Seven Futures for Seven Families
by voi ch'intrate
Summary: Carlisle Cullen has found that being a father has been easy thus far--but what will he do when faced with something far out of this control: his daughter's first love! Craziness ensues in this SEQUEL TO SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. AU, AH
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I'm just having some fun playing with her characters. Consider this the disclaimer for the rest of the story.**

**IMPORTANT: You might want to go read my other story SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS before you read this, because this story WILL NOT make sense unless you do. This story is a SEQUEL to 7B47B, so characters and plotlines and such probably will be a little lost on you unless you've read the original story. So go over to my profile page and click on Seven Brides. I hope you enjoy it. If you've already read Seven Brides, then enjoy this new chapter in the lives of the Cullen brothers and their families! BE SURE TO READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!!!**

Chapter 1: To Town

"_We've had bad luck with children; they've all grown up."_

_-Christopher Morely_

"Please, Papa, I want to go into town with you before we get stuck up here for the winter," she said.

Carlisle crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his eldest child. Her wide, brown eyes and soft hair like her mother's. He couldn't very well say 'no' to that face. But behind the face was the mind of a teenage girl, and that scared Carlisle. It terrified him, actually.

"Papa, please?" Esther asked; her hands clasped in front of her as she begged.

Carlisle had to bite the inside of his cheek so he wouldn't immediately give in. He had to be sterner with her.

Esme came around the doorway, balancing Elena—their youngest—on her hip. Eve, their middle child, not far behind.

"Papa!" Eve said, running forward and flinging her arms around her father's shoulders. At least he still had one that wasn't trying to rebel.

"What's going on out here?" Esme inquired, passing Elena off to her father. She squealed delightedly and slapped her pudgy hands against his cheeks.

He kissed her on the forehead and turned back to his wife and eldest, "Listen, Esther, I'm just going to be going into town to get our supplies for the winter; and I'll probably stop by Uncle Jasper's and Aunt Alice's. Maybe see if Uncle Edward and Aunt Bella are ok."

"I want to see them, too!" She argued, looking at him wide eyes.

Esme sighed; and Carlisle could hear her voice in his head saying, 'pick your battles, Carlisle'.

He shook his head, "Go get your coat, Esther."

She squealed delightedly and threw herself into his open arm and kissed his cheek, "Thank you, Papa!"

She danced away, readying herself for their visit into town.

Esme smiled at her husband, "Keep an eye on her."

"You bet I will," He said. On their last trip into town, Carlisle was hyperaware of the stares his daughter was getting. He was starting to see why Sheriff Swan was going to shoot Edward all those years ago.

"Carlisle, dear, don't fret about her growing up, just enjoy how she is now," Esme reassured him.

"I do enjoy her, and I'm really enjoying having a sixteen-year-old, but I don't, however, enjoy idiotic men not keeping their eyes to themselves," he retorted, snuggling against Elena. She cooed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Esme smiled and sat down on the settee and pulled Eve in front of her and started to braid the little girl's platinum blonde hair.

"So are you going to let her walk around the town on her own, or are you going to stick to her like glue?" Esme asked, weaving her daughter's hair together.

Elena wiggled until Carlisle set her down and she started to waddle away, her little legs still wobbly.

"Of course I'll stick to her," he scoffed, "I know—frightfully well—what boys will do when they're desperate."

"Oh, honestly, it's not like someone is going to whisk your daughter away and hold her hostage for seven months," Esme scoffed.

Carlisle glared at her, "That's not funny, Esme. I know exactly why all of those fathers were up here the moment that pass was open."

Esme finished up with Eve's hair and stood. She patted his chest comfortingly, "Honey, I know you understand now, with three daughters—but don't make her feel like you're hovering over her. Then she'll only be angry and you don't want her angry with you."

"No, I don't," he replied morosely.

"So," Esme shrugged easily, "give her enough freedom that the both of you are comfortable, but enough structure that she knows that you're still in charge."

Carlisle sighed and grabbed his goat from the peg by the door, "Esther, we're going soon, are you ready?"

"Yes, Papa!" She said, bounding down the stairs. Her brown hair was swept away from her face in a knot at the nape of her neck and her light brown eyes were bright. She smiled at her father and wrapped her hand around his arm.

He kissed her cheek lightly and then waved to Esme, Eve and Elena over his shoulder.

Esther sat quietly next to him on the wagon seat all the way into town.

He smiled and nudged her with his elbow, "A penny for your thoughts?"

She grinned and leaned her head on his shoulder, "I'm just thinking about how everybody's doing."

"Maybe we'll go check in on them," he told her with a smile. He kissed the crown of her head.

"Good, I want to see the new baby," she said, clapping her hands happily.

He smiled and said, "I'm sure your mama will be jealous that we get to see her."

Esther laughed, "I'm sure Mama could go visit Aunt Tia and the baby sometime before it starts to snow."

Carlisle nodded and wrapped his arm around his daughter.

"I think your mama would like that," he said, "Should I drop you off at Uncle Benjamin's and Aunt Tia's and let you walk down to Aunt Bella's and Uncle Edward's once you're done visiting there, and I'll come pick you up from there when I'm done with my errands—or would you rather come into town with me?"

Esther scrunched her nose up and contemplated, on the one hand she wanted to see her aunts, uncles and cousins and on the other, she wanted to go into town with her father. She was a little torn as to what to do.

"I want to stay with Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Tia and then go visit Uncle Edward and Aunt Bella," she said finally, with an affirmative nod.

Carlisle smiled, slightly relieved; he had to admit to himself, he didn't want to wound his daughter's pride by hovering over her like a moth drawn to light.

She snuggled against his side as the cold wind whipped past them.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

She shook her head and pressed her lips into a thin line. "It's not too far until Uncle Benjamin's house, I'll last."

Benjamin and Tia had lived with her parents until they saved enough to build a house of their own. It was nestled just beyond the mountain pass in a little clearing surrounded by pines.

Their first child, a girl, had been born only several months before. They were the last to have a child—and some of the Cullen clan was starting to think that they never were going to have kids.

But of course, they did their part to expand the ever-growing Cullen family.

What Carlisle had to find the most amusing about his family, however, was the severe lack of male children. There were a total of three boys born to the Cullens within the past years since the kidnapping debacle.

Edward and Bella's eldest was a boy, and Jasper and Alice's only children were twin boys. Everyone else had girls. Carlisle thought it was ironic. Esme just thought it was funny.

Esther smiled as they drew closer to the small homestead.

"Papa, what are you going to get while you're in town?" Esther asked.

"Just the normal stuff, maybe get Mama some bolts of fabric so you both can make dresses for the girls," Carlisle replied.

"Will you get us some rock candy?" She asked, hopeful.

"Don't I always?" He teased, grinning.

She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss her father's cheek. "Are you going to come in and say hello, or just go straight into town?"

"I need to head right into town—I'll see them when I bring your mama down here soon," Carlisle said, pulling on the reigns so the horses slowed to a halt so his daughter could get down from the wagon.

She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll pick you up from Uncle Edward's and Aunt Bella's, right?" He asked.

Esther nodded to her father, "I'll walk there once I'm done here."

He smiled at the girl, pleased with what he saw. She was growing up to be such a lovely young woman; as much as the task of raising a teenager daunted him, Carlisle was starting to appreciate the mature things about her. Like the way she resigned herself when she knew she wouldn't get her way, or her natural ability to assume responsibility when it came to her younger siblings. She was very much like her mother, and Carlisle was proud.

She waved to him and then went inside.

Benjamin came out on the porch and waved, too.

"Take care of her for me," Carlisle called.

"Will do," Benjamin yelled back, "She's already inside fussing over the baby and Tia."

Carlisle chuckled, "I'm bringing Esme down here probably sometime next week so she can see the little one before the snow starts," Carlisle said.

Benjamin nodded, "Good, Tia's been wanting to see Esme for a while now."

Carlisle smiled at his youngest brother, "Alright. I'm going into town now, anything you need?"

"No," Benjamin said, shaking his head. "I just went in last week, I think we have everything."

Carlisle nodded and whistled to the horses.

They started trotting along, carrying him quickly into the town. The familiar, bright red general store loomed in the distance. Carlisle smirked as he remembered days of old going there with three of his brothers. That was the beginning to all of the madness that had ensued when his six younger brothers kidnapped their six lovers.

Carlisle tethered the horses to the posts outside the store and hopped down from the wagon. He clutched Esme's list in his hands.

"Hey Uncle Carlisle!" A timid boy voice called.

Carlisle turned and smiled at his nephew, Adam. "Hey there! What are you doing in town?"

"I was visiting Grandpa Charlie," the boy said.

"Oh well, run home then—I think Esther is going to stop by there after she finishes up at Benjamin and Tia's house."

"Alright!" The boy called over his shoulder, already running down the road.

Carlisle chuckled and walked into the store.

Mike Newton was still working at the there, and Carlisle couldn't help but smirk. "Ah, Mr. Newton, my wife sent me on an errand today—do you think you can help me find what is on her list?"

"Sure," Mike said in a strained voice. He still had a bit of a problem with the Cullens, which was understandable—they stole the only marriageable girls in the entire town.

Mike got to work on the list and Carlisle went through the fabric aisle, picking up what he thought would be best for his daughters and wife. He chose a soft, dark blue calico for Esme, a light pink with little flowers speckled through it for Eve and Elena, and finally a rich dark brown for his eldest.

He pulled the bolts of fabric down from the wall and brought them to the front counter.

Mike was flitting around the store, his arms laden with bags of sugar and potatoes and cans of apple butter and beans. Carlisle smiled, and went to the counter and started picking out candy for his three girls.

He picked out a red-dyed candy for Eve and a blue one for Esther. He got some soft toffee for Elena because she was too young for the hard candy. He also bought a bar of chocolate for Esme. She would be mad that he'd spent money for such a frivolous item, but Carlisle didn't care.

He smiled to himself and paid for the items, hurrying so he could go home and be with his family.

* * *

**So there you have it. Chapter One! I'm excited about it. It's been almost a month since Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ended. Anyways, on to more important matters. The updating schedule for this story is up to a vote. It can either be every Tuesday and Thursday or on the weekends. Leave me a review and tell me. Either way you only get two chapters a week, because I'm still in the process of writing this story. So I'll need some more time to work on it. **

**This story isn't going to be as long as 7B47B was. It will probably only be about 10 chapters, unless I get seriously carried away in the next couple of chapters. I'm also going to introduce a couple later on that you all might not like. If you don't like it when I introduce it, then don't tell me you don't like it. I don't care, I'm not going to change it. Deal with it. If you'd like to speculate on the couple, feel free to do so. If anyone gets it right they'll get an extended preview of the next chapter. **

**Once more of the kids for the family get introduced I'll make you guys a list of all of the children. Right now it's only Esme and Carlisle's three girls and I think they're pretty easy to keep track of. I'll also include ages and stuff like that, but that will probably happen next chapter. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**Esther smiled and leaned forward on her elbows her fingers laced in front of her mouth to contain her smile. "I met someone," she whispered to her aunt.**

**Bella dropped the spoon she was holding and stared at her eldest niece. Her eyes were wide and Bella couldn't help but allow her thoughts to grow ominous. How would Carlisle react to this? His eldest daughter had 'met someone'. This was pure disaster.**

**"Who?" Bella croaked out and Esther's girlish smile faded.**

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Meeting

"_Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."_

_-Mark Twain_

Edward Cullen sat comfortably in a rocking chair near the fire, watching wet little snowflakes fall to the ground. He had a toddler settled on his lap, her cheek pressed to his chest as she slept quietly.

Adam Cullen, his eldest, came running into the house and dodged into the kitchen.

"Mama!" He called, running through the house.

Edward adjusted the sleeping child on his lap and turned to look at his son. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he shrugged, his curly copper hair falling in his eyes.

"Then why are you calling for her?" Edward asked.

"Because I saw Uncle Carlisle in town after before he went into the general store and he said that Esther is going to come over later today, so I thought Mama would want to know," the twelve-year-old replied simply.

Edward nodded and smiled at his son. "Your mother is outside, gathering the laundry."

"Ok," Adam replied, running out the back door.

It slammed closed and Edward flinched. The baby on his lap twitched and then she started to cry.

He lifted her up and rested her against his shoulder, "No, Honey, it's ok. Marie, sweetheart, don't cry."

"Papa," she sniffled, "Scawy noise."

"I know, little one, it was just Adam."

"Adam?" She squealed, her cute little baby voice cooing.

Edward chuckled and patted her back—he enjoyed watching the bond grow between his eldest and his baby. There was a ten year age-gap, and Edward was afraid that they wouldn't get along—perhaps Adam would be upset that he was no longer the baby of the family, the only child. But he seemed to be enjoying big-brotherhood.

"Let's go find Adam; you can play with him until Esther comes over," he said standing and resting the child on his hip.

"Es'er?" She asked, looking up at her father with solemn brown eyes.

"That's right, Esther," he said to the two-year-old. She snuggled up against him as he walked out back to find Adam and Bella.

"Mama!" The little girl cried upon seeing her mother. Bella smiled and took Marie from Edward's arms and peppered her face with kisses.

Adam and Edward started to chop several logs for the fire as Bella and Marie folded the linens.

"Uncle Edward?" A youthful voice called from the front of the house.

"We're out back, Esther," Edward called, setting up another log to split.

Esther flounced around back, a special spring in her step as she did so.

She went up to Bella and they kissed each other's cheeks. "You look lovely, Esther." Bella commented.

Esther blushed lightly, casting her eyes downward.

"Why are you blushing, Esther?" Adam asked, walking past her with his arms laden with firewood.

"I'm not blushing," she mumbled.

Bella laughed, "Yes you are, what happened?"

Esther smiled and shook her head; she took another load of firewood and brought it to the stack that Adam was forming. "Nothing happened, Aunt Bella! I promise!"

"Yeah right," Bella mumbled, she picked Marie up and then folded the linens over her arm and walked into the house. Esther followed her and started to play with her young cousin.

"I got to see Baby Sarah today," Esther said, handing Marie a carrot stick.

"Oh, how is she?" Bella asked, "I'm assuming Tia and Benjamin are fine, as well?"

Esther giggled, "They're both fine, the baby smiles a lot and Uncle Benny and Aunt Tia were very tired."

"I'm sure they are," Bella chuckled.

Esther smiled and leaned forward on her elbows her fingers laced in front of her mouth to contain her smile. "I met someone," she whispered to her aunt.

Bella dropped the spoon she was holding and stared at her eldest niece. Her eyes were wide and Bella couldn't help but allow her thoughts to grow ominous. How would Carlisle react to this? His eldest daughter had 'met someone'. This was pure disaster.

"Who?" Bella croaked out and Esther's girlish smile faded.

Esther's cheeks inflamed, "Don't get mad, Aunt Bella!"  
Bella came over to her niece and pulled the girl into her arms, "I'm not mad, Esther, I'm just worried about how your father is going to take this."

"Forget my father!" The girl said in a sudden outburst. "Why does he always smother me?! I'm an adult now! He can't have me locked in that stupid cabin forever!" She fumed.

Bella patted her shoulder, "Your father loves you, he's just trying to do what he thinks is best for you."

"Why is he so over-protective?" She cried, slamming her fists against the countertop.

"He has his reasons," Bella sighed.

"They're not good reasons," she muttered.

"He's just a typical father—exactly how my father was when Edward and I wanted to be married, exactly how Edward will be when Marie starts getting suitors."

Esther rolled her eyes, as per the typical teenaged reaction when faced with a rather good argument against her point. "But Aunt Bella, Papa's going to want to kill him!"

"Your father may want to kill him, but he won't kill him. Now," Bella patted her hand, "tell me about this young man that has so stolen your heart."

Esther smiled slightly, a bright blush colouring her cheeks. "His name is Seth."

"Seth?" Bella asked, "And where did you meet this Seth?"

"When I was walking here. He was driving his wagon into town. He asked me my name and when I told him he said he remembered when my uncles kidnapped you all up to the cabin."

"Seth, Seth Clearwater?" Bella exclaimed her eyes wide.

Esther nodded her eyes downcast.

Bella planted her fists on her hips and leveled her niece with a hard stare, "He's too old for you!"

"No he's not, Aunt Bella!"

"How old is he?" Bella shot back.

"He's twenty-five," she muttered.

Bella nodded, "And how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," Esther replied with an exasperated sigh. She drew herself up and glared at her aunt, "He's only nine years older than I am! That's not much!"

"I don't care!" Bella replied, "Your father will have a heart-attack if he hears you've been off gallivanting with Seth Clearwater."

"I know he comes over here for dinner sometimes, Adam told me so, please Aunt Bella just tell me about him!" She clasped her hands in front of her as she begged, "Please! Please! I promise, I'll get these silly notions out of my head if you'll just tell me about him!"

Bella snorted, "If I tell you about him, you'll get more silly notions in your head!"

"No I won't, Aunt Bella!" Esther pleaded.

Bella sighed. After she and Edward had married she had reconciled her friendship with Jacob Black. Whenever Jacob came to their house he was followed by Seth Clearwater. The boy seemed oddly mature for his age and he chased after Jacob like a lost puppy.

Bella had to admit to herself he was a nice young man, he had an established job and had just built himself a homestead at the base of the mountain, not too far from Tia and Benjamin's cabin.

Bella sighed and repeated, "He's too old for you."

"Oh, no he's not!" Esther said dejectedly.

"Esther it wouldn't be so bad if you were older, but you're just a teenager, and he's a man."

"So?" Esther shot back, "We'll wait until I'm older."

"Are you even sure he feels the same way?" Bella asked warily.

Esther stared at the tops of her boots, her eyes misting with tears. "Well, no. But he was just so nice to me, I thought…" Her voice trailed off, her throat to thick to speak.

"Oh, Esther," Bella said empathetically. She went to the young woman and wrapped her arms around her comfortingly.

Edward came in the back door and looked at them with a quizzical expression. "What's going on?"

"We're just dealing with a broken heart right now, nothing to worry about," Bella replied trying to convey with her eyes that he was to go find something else to occupy his time while Bella dealt with the minor drama happening in the kitchen.

Edward didn't get her subliminal messaging. "Who broke whose heart?!"

"Nothing," Esther said, her voice cracking, "I just got stupid for a second there."

"Who lead you on, Sweetie, Adam and I will go take care of them," he replied, cracking his knuckles.

Esther gave her uncle a watery smile, "No one led me on; I was just fantasizing. Nothing to worry about, Uncle Edward."

Edward sighed and nodded. He didn't entirely believe her, but he knew better then to ask a crying woman for answers. "Alright, well if you need us the children and I will be in the parlor."

"Good, entertain the children; Esther and I will have dinner ready soon," Bella smiled for her husband and went back to consoling her niece.

"There will be other young men, Esther. I promise you that." She reasoned.

"I know—but I just got it in my head that we were meant to be together," she sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"I promise you, Esther, with a face as pretty as yours you will be able to have any boy you want. Just wait a little while longer so the rest of us can stay sane. Especially your father, I don't think he's ready to let go of his little girl just yet."

Esther nodded. But she didn't want to have just any boy. Nor did she particularly want to wait.

But that was another argument for another time.

* * *

**No one guessed it was Seth.... I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, he's too old. I thought that over and over and over again, but I ask you, did I ever determine Seth's age in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? No, I don't think I did. And even if I did, please tell me so I can go back and change it. For the purposes of this sequel, Seth was 9 in 7B47B. I don't think a 9 year age difference is that much. Right now it seems bad because Esther's still a teen. But please, don't hate me for the coupling just yet. You never know it may turn out alright.**

**I've decided to update every Tuesday and Thursday. Considering that's what everyone requested....**

**Anyways, here's a list of all the children and their ages:**

**Carlisle and Esme's kids:  
+Esther- 16 years of age  
+Elena- 9 years of age  
+Eve- 16 months of age**

Benjamin and Tia's kid:  
+Sarah- 4 months of age

**Edward and Bella's kids:  
+Adam- 12 years of age  
+Marie- 2 years of age**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**Carlisle walked out behind her, groaning under his breath. Esther slammed the door and Adam flinched.**

**"Uncle Carlisle, is Esther alright?" He asked.**

**Carlisle shook his head, "I don't know, Adam. I just don't know."**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Clash of Opinions

"_Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."_

_-James Thurber_

Carlisle loaded up the wagon, tying down bundles that might come loose. He had a bag of rock candy and chocolates stuck in his coat pocket, and the fabric he had bought for his lovely wife and daughters wrapped in brown paper in the back of the wagon.

Overall, Carlisle was quite pleased with himself. He had had a minor victory of making it so that Esther was not in town with him, and under the watchful eyes of his brothers. Both of whom were under strict orders to protect her at all costs. It was either protect his baby or be killed by their eldest brother.

So they protected her.

Carlisle was feeling so magnanimous that he started to whistle an exuberant little spring in his step.

"Good morning, Mr. Cullen," one of the young boys Carlisle remembered to always follow Jacob Black around said, typing his own horses to the post in front of the general store.

Carlisle tipped his hat to the young man and thought nothing more of it.

But the boy persisted, "I saw your eldest on the road today."

Carlisle did not liking where this conversation was going. He hadn't accounted for that spare time that Esther would be between his brothers' houses. Perhaps having her walk between Benjamin's and Edward's wasn't such a good idea at all.

He regarded the man with wary patience, "Yes, she was probably traveling to Edward and Bella's house. She's visiting them today."

"I hadn't realized that she was such a lovely girl," the boy offered.

Carlisle truly did not like this conversation. He didn't like it one bit. "She is rather beautiful," he allowed, "but still very young."

"Oh, well, how old is she?" The boy said. Carlisle tried to remember his name but was coming up a blank. Sean? Sam? What was it?

"She's a teenager," Carlisle replied evasively.

"Well then, she's not so young," the boy replied. He didn't mean the statement to be rude, but Carlisle was seeing red so he glared at the young man.

"What are you getting at here, son?" He asked, barely keeping his voice even.

The young man looked taken aback, "I was just merely observing that she is very beautiful, sir. I meant nothing by it."

Carlisle nodded curtly, "I know she's beautiful. You don't, however, need to. Good day," he replied, swinging up onto the bench seat of the wagon.

The young man stood before him flabbergasted. That exchange had not gone as he had planned. But he was so nervous that it was understandable.

For Carlisle, however, the exchange went in his favor. He had successfully deflected romantic intentions away from his baby and he had gotten his errands done faster than anticipated so he could give Esther a lecture about not talking to strangers.

He pulled up to Edward and Bella's house.

Edward and the children were in the front room. Adam was entertaining his younger sister while Edward sat as close to the kitchen door as he could without it being obvious that he was eavesdropping.

"What's going on, dare I ask?" Carlisle asked, still a little on edge.

"Oh, Esther and Bella are having a tête-à-tête." Edward responded.

"About what?" Carlisle asked apprehensively.

"Some boy or something, I was kicked out of the kitchen, just so you know," Edward replied loftily.

"It wasn't one of those boys that hangs around with Jacob Black, was it?" Carlisle, asked fuming.

"I was told nothing, I don't know," Edward responded, holding his hands up in surrender.

Carlisle glared at his brother, who returned the baleful stare. Carlisle strode into the kitchen where Esther was stirring a bowl of batter despondently.

He crouched down on his knees in front of her and brushed an errant lock of her hair away from her eyes, "What's the matter, little one?"

She jerked away from him, her eyes still watery. "Nothing, Papa, I'm just not in a good mood right now."

"Tell me what's bothering you, Esther, please let me help."

Bella was about to open her mouth and tell her brother-in-law not to pry into his daughter's personal issues, but then she felt it would be best not to interrupt.

Esther stared at her father with forlorn dark eyes, "Papa, it's nothing really."

"It's not 'nothing' if it has made my daughter cry. If it has something to do with that boy, then it's taken care of."

Esther looked up at him, startled, "Papa, what did you do? How did you know? What happened?"

Carlisle chewed on the inside of his cheek, "The man came up to me today outside of the store and said that you were very beautiful—" Carlisle noticed a fleeting, pleased look in his daughter's eyes, but continued, "—but I told him that you were still just a child and he was to keep his eyes to himself."

She set the bowl of batter down violently. "Papa! Why did you do that! Perhaps he'd want to court me if you hadn't scared him off!"

"Court you?" Carlisle roared, angrily staring at his defiant eldest, "He will not court you! He's a man and you are but a child!"

"I'm not a child, Father! I'm almost a woman! And if he wants to court me then let him!"

Bella silently backed out of the kitchen as the argument between father and daughter grew more heated.

"I will not stand by and let my daughter be taken away from me!" Carlisle argued.

"Yes, you will! I'm not going to stay your daughter forever!! I'm going to go off and have your own life. Keep Eve or Elena but not me, Papa, not me!"

"I will keep you, Esther, you are my daughter; and, you will do as I say," Carlisle replied in a no-nonsense tone.

"Come, Esther, we're leaving," he continued, grabbing the girl's coat from the hooks by the back door and roughly handing it to her.

"No," she replied.

"No?" Carlisle repeated, "I don't think I raised you to talk back to me, Esther Elizabeth Cullen."

"You didn't raise me that way, Papa, but I'm going to stay here for the night."

"Oh, I'd say not, Esther. We're going to go home, and you, your mother and I are going to talk about this like calm adults."

"Well, I can't talk about it like an adult," she replied haughtily, "because, obviously I'm still a child."

Carlisle sighed and rubbed his temples. Wasn't he singing the joys of having an easy teenager just that morning? And all of this over a boy whose name her wouldn't have been able to remember if it would've saved his life.

"Please, Esther, don't be difficult just come with me. Maybe your mother can talk some sense into you," he muttered as an afterthought.

She roughly pulled her coat on and brushed past her father. She stopped in the living room to bid her relatives goodbye and then walked from the house, a martyred look on her face.

Carlisle walked out behind her, groaning under his breath. Esther slammed the door and Adam flinched.

"Uncle Carlisle, is Esther alright?" He asked.

Carlisle shook his head, "I don't know, Adam. I just don't know."

Edward gave his eldest brother an inquiring look but said nothing—he had a creeping fear that he would have to deal with something akin to this in a few years.

Carlisle sighed as he climbed onto the wagon—pretending not to take notice of Esther, situated in the bed of the wagon amongst parcels wrapped in brittle, brown paper.

They didn't talk for the remainder of the ride home. Carlisle thought he could hear her sniffling, or give a breathless sob or sigh but he decided to ignore it, hoping it would go away. He counted down the minutes until he could hand Esther off to Esme, and retreat into his room to bang his head against a wall and pray that perhaps Esther would decide to become a nun. He doubted she would, but he could hope.

Esme as well as his two other daughters greeted them on the porch.

His wife took notice of their daughter, sitting in the back of the wagon like a criminal being carted off to prison.

"Uh-oh," she sighed, "what happened?"

Esther shrugged and brushed past her mother and stomped into the cabin.

Esme stared after her and then turned to look at Carlisle, "What did you do to her?"

"How do you know I did something to her?" Carlisle shot back, tired of people being cross with him.

Eve and Elena ran forward to embrace his legs. At least he had two people who still loved him.

"Apparently Esther met someone on the road to Bella and Edward's."

"He's not just someone!" Esther called from the house, "His name is Seth Clearwater!"

So that was his name! Carlisle thought. Seth Clearwater. Carlisle cursed him to the deepest circle of hell, the one reserved for nice young men who wanted to court nice young women.

"Oh! He's a little old for her," Esme muttered to her husband.

Carlisle threw his hands up into the air, "That's what I thought—but everyone jumps to conclusions that I was being the bad guy of the situation."

Esme patted his arm comfortingly, "Why don't you tell me what this situation is, hmm?"

"From what I know—Esther met this young man en route to Edward's house. They talked and from there I believe she went on with her travels. I met him in town where he informed me that he had seen my daughter and then went on to tell me how beautiful she is, and then inquired as to her age. I, nicely, told him she was far too young for him and left it at that.

"Apparently, Bella spoke to Esther about it and she got her hopes up that young Mr. Clearwater would be courting her. Which is, of course, not going to happen if I have anything to say about it," he took a breath and stared at his wife who urged him to continue, "so we argued about it a little—she apparently thinks I've treated her unfairly and that is how we came to the situation at hand."

Esme nodded, and went to go find their daughter. As much as she loved her husband, she was fairly sure that he didn't have a clue as to what was going on and Esther's prospective was probably better to view this whole debacle from anyway.

"Esther, sweetheart, please talk to me," Esme said quietly as she rapped her knuckles against the locked bedroom door.

Esther opened it a few minutes later. She had changed into her nightgown and taken her hair down. She had tear tracks on her cheeks, and it startled Esme, but she looked amazingly grown up.

"What happened today, Honey?" Esme asked, pulling her daughter in her warm embrace.

Esther cried on her mother's shoulder while Esme steered them to the window seat. Esme swept Esther's hair away from her face and brushed away the wetness on her cheeks.

Esther caught her breath and said, "I-I saw him on the road to Uncle Edward's house. He was driving his wagon into town. He came up behind me and asked if I wanted I ride. I knew better than to get in the wagon with him, so I told him no.

"He just smiled and jumped down off the wagon, 'I'll walk with you, then' he said. He had a really nice voice, Mama. And he was very sweet! We talked for a while. And he asked me what my name was. I told him Esther Cullen, and he started to laugh. 'Your uncles kidnapped the girls from town a while back, right?' I laughed back and said yes." She smiled and looked at her mother shyly.

"Well, then he said, 'Don't worry, Miss Cullen, I wouldn't dare kidnap you—I think your father's dealt with enough kidnapping for a lifetime'. I agreed with him, and then we just kept walking. He walked me all the way to Uncle Edward's house. Oh, and Mama, when we got there he said that it was a pleasure to meet me and he gave me a kiss on the cheek!"  
She looked so incandescently happy that Esme was going to have a hard time talking her out of falling in love with the young man.

"I talked to Aunt Bella about it," she murmured, playing with the hem of her nightgown. "She said that Seth is too old for me, and that I was being silly."

Esme smiled fondly at her daughter, "Well, my dear, you are being a little silly, but I understand. I was mad after your father before he would even acknowledge my presence."

"Really?" Esther breathed staring at her mother with newfound hope.

"Yes, really, oh I fantasized about marrying him one day—and you know what, my dreams came true. I hope your dreams come true, my darling, but don't grow up too fast, alright?"

Esther smiled and wiped her eyes, "Does this mean that if Seth wants to court me he can?"

"It's up to your father," Esme said and watched her daughter's face fall. "But if I have anything to do about it—and I will—the answer is yes."

Esther squealed and threw her arms around her mother's shoulders, hugging her tightly. "Oh thank you, Mama, thank you!"

* * *

**Wow, you guys actually seemed to like Esther and Seth together! I'm so excited about that! I was terribly worried that you all would think that I'd screwed up my story and would hate it. But everyone was ok with the age difference and I got so many nice reviews! Thank you guys so much for them! You all are really amazing!**

**Next update will be on Thursday! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**"Listen to me, Carlisle Cullen," Esme said harshly, "you have one very upset daughter who thinks that you aren't treating her fairly. I understand where you're coming from, my love, but you have to find the balance between treating her like your first baby and letting her grow up."**

**Carlisle walked over to his wife and put his hands on her shoulders, "I can't do this, my Esme. I can't just let her go."**

**"It's not up to you, Carlisle," Esme replied with a sigh. "Even if you're right about Seth not asking to court her-there will be other boys, and someday you will have to give her up, and she's going to want her Papa to be happy for her. So you'll have to smile and make her know that you're happy if she's happy."**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Exchange of Pleasantries

"_Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts."__  
-__Arnold Bennett_

Carlisle was pacing around the master bedroom when Esme came in. He had his hands fisted in his hair, yanking at the graying roots.

"Please tell me you talked so sense into her, my Esme, please," he pleaded.

Esme smiled affectionately at her husband, "I did talk to her, handsome husband of mine, but I'm afraid you won't like it."

Carlisle's hands dropped limply at his sides, "What did you say to her, Esme?"

"I merely told her that if Seth Clearwater comes here to ask after her, I would talk to you about not running him off," I replied.

"Well, he's not going to come if he knows what's good for him," Carlisle muttered.

"Listen to me, Carlisle Cullen," Esme said harshly, "you have one very upset daughter who thinks that you aren't treating her fairly. I understand where you're coming from, my love, but you have to find the balance between treating her like your first baby and letting her grow up."

Carlisle walked over to his wife and put his hands on her shoulders, "I can't do this, my Esme. I can't just let her go."

"It's not up to you, Carlisle," Esme replied with a sigh. "Even if you're right about Seth not asking to court her—there will be other boys, and someday you will have to give her up, and she's going to want her Papa to be happy for her. So you'll have to smile and make her know that you're happy if she's happy."

Carlisle sighed and rested his forehead against his wife's. "I'll try, I can't make any guarantees, but I will try."

"That's all I could hope for Carlisle, now, let's go tuck our babies in and pretend like none of this drama happened."

Carlisle chuckled. He trusted his wife completely but he wasn't sure that he could entirely forget what had transpired that day.

He walked across the hall and knocked on the girls' bedroom door. Esther opened it and stared at him.

She threw herself into his arms and held on as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry that I made you mad, Papa."

He kissed her cheek, "I lost my temper, Esther, but I shouldn't have."

"It's alright, Papa, I shouldn't have been bratty to you," she smiled slightly, "I just let my imagination get away from me."

He smiled affectionately at the girl, "If Seth Clearwater comes here to ask after you, I'll talk to him. But know, my child, that I think he's far too old for you. He must prove himself, but I will give him a chance if he so desires one."

Esther's eyes widened. "That's all I could ask for from you, Papa! But he probably won't come, but I'm glad that you would've given him a choice."

* * *

The next week Carlisle and Esme traveled down the mountain pass to visit their family. Esther was watching the girls and so Carlisle and Esme were given some nice alone time to discuss their family and to reconnect with each other.

They planned their day so that they could stop by and see at least four of Carlisle's brothers. Starting with Benjamin and then going into town to see Emmett, Jasper and Edward.

Benjamin greeted his brother and sister-in-law as they pulled up. He had his daughter, Sarah, propped up against his shoulder. The bright-eyed baby was enthusiastically tugging on her father's hair.

"You two look happy," Carlisle laughed.

Benjamin smiled and then pulled his hair out of the babe's grasp. "Yes, we're all smiles this morning."

"Well at least one of you is," Esme giggled as Benjamin winced once again, pulling his dark hair way from the baby's hands.

She fussed at him and started to cry. Tia came running out on the porch and took the baby from him. She settled down once in her mother's arms. Tia gave both Carlisle and Esme a hug and the women went into the house to fawn over the baby.

"So how goes things at your neck of the woods?" Benjamin asked, sitting on the porch next to his brother.

Carlisle chuckled darkly, "Esther is all in a tizzy because she met Seth Clearwater last week and she's got it into her pretty, little head that he's going to court her."

"Seth Clearwater, huh?" Benjamin laughed. "Isn't that the little kid who was running around, biting everyone's ankles at the barn-raising way back when?"

"Yeah, that's him. Only he isn't so much of a little kid anymore," Carlisle replied morosely.

"Oh?" Benjamin asked with an arched eyebrow.

"He told me that I have a beautiful daughter and asked me how old she was," Carlisle shrugged.

"So you think that he's the scum of the earth just because he asked after your pretty, little girl?" Benjamin asked mirthfully.

"You won't think it's so funny when someone asks after your pretty, little girl," Carlisle shot back huskily, glaring at his brother.

"Yeah, but my pretty, little girl is four months old," Benjamin retorted, "yours is sixteen. You know—sixteen isn't too young to be married."

"Just because you and Tia were seventeen and sixteen when you were married doesn't necessarily mean that that is what is proper for my daughter."

Benjamin patted his brother on the back, "I know, Carlisle, but you are going to have to give her up someday."

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" Carlisle growled.

Benjamin chuckled, "Because it's true."

Carlisle smiled, but the humor didn't reach his eyes, "I get the feeling I'll be hearing that a lot in the next couple of years."

"Probably will," Benjamin said, scratching the back of his neck.

Carlisle sighed and stood up, "So when you go through this in sixteen years, I'll tell you the exact same thing."

"You sure will, I wouldn't expect anything less," the young father retorted.

Carlisle smiled, this time it lit up his whole face—he stood up and groaned. "I'm getting old, Benjamin."

"You're not even forty yet, quit complaining," Benjamin shot back, mock-punching his brother.

Carlisle laughed and went inside.

Soon Esme was ready to leave and they departed to go to Edward and Bella's homestead.

"Oh! Is that him?" Esme exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the seat of the wagon.

"What do you mean 'is that him'?" Carlisle asked, slowing the horses to a trot.

Esme grabbed onto his arm and bit her lip, "I think that's the young Mr. Clearwater!"

She pointed to a young man out working on the flowerbed in the front of his house.

"Carlisle slow the wagon down, I want to talk to him," Esme demanded.

"What? Esme, please, don't do this to me, you and Esther both are determined to make me go gray prematurely," he declared.

"Oh, Sweetie," Esme giggled, running her fingers through her hair and tousling it, "you already are turning a little gray at the temples."

"Don't say that Esme," he pleaded, looking at her with sad blue-gray eyes, his lip sticking out in a pout.

She leaned in and kissed him, "Be nice and stop, we'll talk to the young man and exchange pleasantries and perhaps see what his intentions are for our daughter."

"Esme, we're not going to encourage him," Carlisle muttered, glaring at the young man's back.

He stood and dusted his hands off and waved to them, a smile on his face. He jogged to the edge of his yard, "Hello there, Mrs. Cullen, Mr. Cullen."

Esme smiled at him, "Hello, Seth, how are you doing today?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Cullen, what about you?"

"Oh I'm well, thank you," she replied and then she elbowed Carlisle sharply in the ribs.

"What about you, Mr. Cullen?" Seth asked amiably.

"I'm alright," Carlisle replied curtly.

"And how are your daughters," Seth asked a little apprehensively. He felt as if he'd swallowed a brick and he was about to vomit it back up.

"They're well," Carlisle replied.

Seth nodded awkwardly and started kicking pebbles around, trying to think of something to prolong their conversation.

"Well, have a nice day, Seth," Esme smiled.

"You too, Mrs. Cullen," he replied, answering with a smile of his own.

Carlisle snapped the reigns of the horses and they continued on. When they were out of earshot, Esme slapped her husband on the arm.

"You could've been nicer to the young man," she scolded.

"I spoke civilly to him!" Carlisle defended himself.

Esme rolled her eyes and scoffed—they had a long road ahead of them.

* * *

**So. I love Seth. I just do. I can't help it. Carlisle's still upset and who could blame him? He's got a pretty daughter that he doesn't want to let go of just yet. Anyway, I can't really think of anything else that needs to be addressed here. Oh! I know, I think this story is probably going to be a little bit longer than I originally estimated... I said in the beginning that it was only going to be about 10 chapters, because quite frankly I had no plot in mind for this story it was going to be mindless fluff, and then a couple of days ago this plot just hit me in the head. And I'm so excited! I really like it, but of course this story will probably end up being twice as long as I'd originally imaged. Not that I think any of you guys will be terribly upsetted by a longer, more interesting story. :P**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**"So do you know what his intentions are?" Edward asked.**

**"No, as far as I know, he only intends to make my life miserable," Carlisle muttered.**

**Edward laughed, "You're being over-dramatic, Carlisle. You weren't this mad at us as when we kidnapped the girls, what really is bothering you?"**

**Carlisle rubbed his temples, "I just don't want her to get hurt. I saw all the drama that went on when you all kidnapped the girls, and while it worked out in the end I'm just afraid that this isn't going to work out. What am I supposed to do if he breaks my little girl's heart?"**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: More Advice

"_Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."_

_-Erica Jong_

Edward and Bella greeted Carlisle and Esme with hugs and kisses. Carlisle was more reluctant to be affectionate, but once seated with his brother and nephew he felt a little better.

"Was Esther alright after you left last week?" Adam asked, moving one of his tin soldiers around in his mock battle.

"Yeah, she was fine," Carlisle replied, watching the young man move silver soldiers around on the wooden, cabin floor. A cannonball struck and took out three of the enemy's men.

"So what exactly happened, Bells wouldn't tell me," Edward asked, running his finger around the rim of his cup of water.

Carlisle chuckled darkly, "Esther and Seth got to talking while she walked here last time and I do believe a mutual attraction blossomed between them."

"And how did you take it?" Edward asked arching an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't people be asking after Esther, how she's dealing with her first love and this entire mess—but you and Benjamin both tried to get at how I feel about my baby getting star struck by him."

Edward laughed, "Because, I'm pretty sure I could guess how Esther feels; but you, brother, are a little bit harder to read."

"I'm a little bit sad about her growing up so fast, and I'm mad that it's for someone so much older, and I'm being over-protective of my baby, because she's still mine!" He exclaimed.

"So do you know what his intentions are?" Edward asked.

"No, as far as I know, he only intends to make my life miserable," Carlisle muttered.

Edward laughed, "You're being over-dramatic, Carlisle. You weren't this mad at us as when we kidnapped the girls, what really is bothering you?"

Carlisle rubbed his temples, "I just don't want her to get hurt. I saw all the drama that went on when you all kidnapped the girls, and while it worked out in the end I'm just afraid that this isn't going to work out. What am I supposed to do if he breaks my little girl's heart?"

Edward sighed, "Who says she'll get a broken heart? Maybe she'll be one of the lucky ones that finds their soul-mate right off the bat."

"Or maybe she'll be one of the many who gets her hopes up about a young man who won't ever come to ask for her," Carlisle replied sullenly.

Edward smirked, "Who says that Seth wants to court your daughter, anyway?"

Carlisle opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again.

"Ah, see," Edward said, reclining against the back of his chair, "you don't know. Perhaps he's just being a nice young man."

"Or perhaps he's not," Carlisle pointed out.

"Carlisle, we have to be going," Esme said, coming out of the kitchen and wrapping her shawl around her shoulders.

Carlisle nodded to his wife and shook hands with his brother.

"Are you all going to visit Em' and Rose now?" Bella asked, following Esme out of the house.

"Yes," Esme replied.

"Will you take some of the fresh bread and butter to Tobias for me? Rosalie said he hasn't felt much up to eating lately, but she's trying to get him to."

Rosalie's mother had recently passed, and Tobias Hale had taken her death pretty hard. He had refused to see anyone, especially his daughter, for several months. He'd locked himself in his room and not opened the door. The Cullen women who lived in town had taken it upon themselves to make sure that he was well cared for.

"We'll take it to him," Esme said softly.

Bella nodded and smiled. She gave Carlisle a hug and then one to Esme. "We'll see you later, be safe up there this winter."

"We will," Carlisle averred.

And then they were on their way to the Hale-Cullen household. Esme smiled as they arrived. Emmett and Rosalie had moved back to the Hale's large house after they were married and they still lived there with their three daughters and Mr. Hale.

Emmett was on the front porch, playing dolls with his youngest. She had her mother's bright blonde hair and her father's tumbling curls, and she looked exactly like Emmett.

"Hey there," he called, waving one large hand in the air.

Carlisle burst out laughing at the sight of his bear of a brother cradling one of his daughters rag dolls in his arms. Emmett turned to glare at him, "Like you don't play dollies with your little girls."

Carlisle sobered and Esme giggled.

"Thought so," he shot back, handing the doll back to his daughter. She smiled a dimpled smile at him and jumped up and down to get her father to pick her up. He hoisted her into his arms and tickled her under the chin.

"How are you both today?" Emmett asked.

"We're fine," Esme replied with a smile. She grabbed the basket Bella had sent, "Bella sent this over for Tobias."

Emmett's face fell a little, and he gestured over his shoulder, "You can just put it in the kitchen, Rosie will make sure he gets it."

"How is he?" Esme asked softly.

"He's better than he has been—but I don't think he'll ever be back to his old self." Emmett said with a wistful smile.

Esme smiled timidly, "I just hope that he doesn't make himself sick."

Emmett shrugged, "Hopefully, I don't think Rosie could handle that."

"How is she doing?" Carlisle asked.

"A lot better than I thought she would." He sighed, "I think she thinks she has to pull herself together for us, I just wish she'd let her walls down at let me in—just for a little bit."

"Just give her time," Esme cautioned, "I know what it was like to lose my parents; she'll open back up to you, Emmett. Don't worry."

Emmett smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Esme."

"You're welcome, Em'," she said with an affectionate pat on the shoulder. She walked past him into the kitchen. She stood so that she was hidden by the door. Rosalie and her eldest were in the kitchen making soup.

"Bella sent bread," Esme said quietly.

Rosalie looked up from chopping carrots and smiled slightly, "Thank you for bringing it, Esme."

"It was our pleasure; I hope your father is doing better."

"He is, but it's going to take him a while to get back on his feet. He's been so heartsick lately," she sighed.

Esme nodded, "At least he's doing better."

"Mmhmm," Rosalie murmured, dumping the carrots into the pot. "So," she said fishing for a topic change, "how are your girls?"

Esme groaned and Rose gave her a quizzical look. "It's been a battle of wills between Esther and Carlisle this past week."

"What do you mean? I thought she and Carlisle were two peas in a pod, she's her Daddy's little girl," Rosalie said, her violet eyes wide.

Esme shook her head, "Esther has a bit of a crush on Seth Clearwater—and Carlisle doesn't like that. Esther thinks he's treating her like a child; but, Carlisle thinks he's too old for her—we're at an impasse because neither of them will relent, they both think they're right."

"And what do you think?"

"I think that they're both getting bent out of shape about nothing. I think that if Seth wanted to court my daughter then he has to prove himself worthy of her, but if she wants to marry him anytime soon I think she's mistaken."

Rosalie smirked. "You think she's too young?"

"She is! He's twenty-five and she's sixteen."

"You know, Esme, I'm surprised you haven't spoken to her of this yourself," Rosalie said.

"I don't want to upset her—I've talked to Seth some, and he sounds a little lovesick himself, but he's going to have to give my little girl the courting that Carlisle should've given me."

"Or any of those Cullen brothers gave us," Rosalie agreed, nodding her head.

"Because he's so much older I expect him to be her friend first, give them time to get out of the puppy love stage," Esme reasoned, glad to finally be able to talk to someone about what she had been going through on the inside the past week, "and then if they decide that they just want to be friends I'll be happy."

"What if they decide they don't just want to be friends?" Rosalie challenged.

"Then I guess when she's eighteen, I'll allow him to start making his intentions known and then we'll see what happens from there."

Rosalie nodded, "That sounds fair."

"I've had plenty of time to think about it," Esme sighed.

"I'm sure you have," Rosalie replied.

Esme blew out a heavy breath and brushed her hair behind her ears. She twisted her wedding band around her finger. She wanted her daughter to be happy and get married, but it was too soon.

It seemed like it was just yesterday that Esme had figured out she was expecting her first child and then spent one of the best winters in her life in the cabin with her husband and family. And then Esther was born.

Esme couldn't imagine her baby in love with someone.

But she knew with the way things with Seth were looking, she would have to brace herself for the inevitable.

* * *

**Who's surprised that I updated early? I have a reason for this. It's May 3! Now, to most of you this is just another day, but to me, it's something special. For one it's Esther's fictional birthday--but that also means it's _my _birthday! [throws a handful of confetti] I'm getting old.... Ok, so I figured I'd give you all a present, this chapter a couple of days early. I still may update on Tuesday--I'm not sure yet, we'll see. But anyways, I hope you enjoy it.**

**We finally get to see how Esme feels about this all. She's not upset, she's just trying to make sure that her daughter is as happy as possible. **

**And this is a fairly accurate account of courting, by the way. They have to be friends first then "date". I have a lot of friends who have been raised to "court" not "date". It's not weird or anything, just old-fashioned. It gives the couple time to get to know each other before they are interacting romantically.**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**"I can't stay, I have to go work," Seth replied, shrugging on his coat.**

**Jacob smiled at him, "Alright, but come back sometime next week and stay for dinner. We'd love to have you."**

**"Seth?" Nessie asked from the doorway of the kitchen, "Be careful, it looks like it's going to be a blizzard tonight-you know I worry about you up there in the mountains."**

**"Don't worry about me," Seth replied with an easy grin. "I'll be fine."**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Gone With the Wind

"_Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."__  
-__James A. Baldwin_

"Esther go bye-bye," Elena declared from her place on the floor near the doorway as her parents entered the log cabin.

"What do you mean?" Esme asked, stooping to pick up the toddler. The little girl shook her head and ducked her face to hide in her mother's shoulder.

Esme shot Eve a quizzical look. Eve shrugged, "Esther said that it was getting late so she was going to go look for you—but that was a couple of hours ago."

Carlisle started to feel an immense pressure in his chest before his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed into a nearby chair, "Evie, what do you mean, she came to look for us?"

Eve sighed, exasperated that her father didn't understand, "I told her not to go, but nobody listens to me! I said that Mama and Papa had already told us that they wouldn't be back 'til late, but she went anyways. I told her she'd be in real bad trouble!"

"Eve, it's alright, calm down," Esme said, smoothing the girl's white-blonde hair way from her wide blue eyes. "Esther left, is that right?"

"Yes," Eve said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Esme told the girl to go to her room and take her younger sister with her. Once both of the children were out of the room Esme looked at her husband, still collapsed in a chair, his hand absently massaging his breast.

"Why did she leave?" He breathed. "What could she possibly gain by leaving?"

Esme made a sort of strangled, sobbing sound and then fled to the stairs, leaving a stunned Carlisle behind. She ran to her room and then flung herself across her bed as she would have when she was a young woman. There was a piece of stationary on her pillow.

She let out a watery laugh as she recognized the penmanship. Esther. She remembered many years of sitting at the kitchen table teaching her eldest how to write. She had been so proud of those little cursive letters.

But now, they looked awful in a haphazard note.

_Dearest Mama and Papa,_

_Know that I am safe. I've gone to spend the long winter in town with Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice. I'm sure they won't mind having me stay there. Aunt Alice always tells me I'm welcome. Don't worry about me._

_I'm very sorry if I've upset you; but, I need to spend this winter figuring out what I want to do with my life. I know that the pass will snow over soon, so I needed to take the chance of walking into town tonight. Please do not try to persuade me to come home. I want to try to live my life on my own. I'll look for work here and buy my own food. _

_Please, Mama, Papa, understand that I love you both very, very much... _

_Esther Cullen_

Esme had fresh tears streaming down her face and it took her a moment to register that Carlisle had entered the room behind her and taken the letter from her grasp.

"I'm going after her," Carlisle breathed in her ear. "I'll bring her back."

"She says she won't come back," Esme gasped around the lump in her throat.

"She will," Carlisle said his voice hard and cold. "She will."

"Where are you headed off to next?" Jacob asked of his younger friend.

"The Cullen's," Seth replied, fetching his jacket from the wooden coat-rack behind the door.

"Are you sure you won't stay for supper?" Jacob asked, "Nessie's making her beef stew. It's always really good—you should stay and have a bowl."

Much to Seth and the other townspeople's surprise a nice, young schoolteacher had blown into the town several years back, and Jacob Black—notorious for his undying, unrequited love for Bella Cullen—was completely smitten with her. Even more surprising was her ardent return of his affections.

The two had married two months later and had been happy ever since. Their marriage had finally allowed Bella and Jacob to become friends once again and thus Seth was accepted into the Black-Cullen social circle.

"I can't stay, I have to go work," Seth replied, shrugging on his coat.

Jacob smiled at him, "Alright, but come back sometime next week and stay for dinner. We'd love to have you."

"Seth?" Nessie asked from the doorway of the kitchen, "Be careful, it looks like it's going to be a blizzard tonight—you know I worry about you up there in the mountains."

"Don't worry about me," Seth replied with an easy grin. "I'll be fine."

She nodded and bustled back into the kitchen.

Seth said his goodbyes to his friend and then went out into the blustery, winter night.

Seth tugged his wool jacket closer to his body as he trudged against the wind to the Cullen's house. Well, one of the many Cullens that currently lived in the town. These particular Cullens happened to be Jasper and Alice Cullen.

Recently Seth had made a rather good name for himself as a popular gardener around the town. He had quite a prosperous garden himself over the summer and that had inspired him to help other families in town with their own vegetables, flowers and trees.

As it were, he was on his way to the Cullen's house to prepare their petunias for winter.

He sighed, his thoughts once again wondering to another of the Cullens. A young woman, in particular.

Seth shook his head; there was no use in thinking about her right now. He had as much of a chance of marrying her as he did of getting those petunias to bloom all through winter.

He could hear a commotion going out at the Cullen's house before he arrived at the door. A lilting female voice seemed to be pleading with another soprano and a male voice that he recognized to be Mr. Cullen's.

He knocked timidly on the door and it swung open, revealing one of the boys. It was either Peter or Brandon, but Seth didn't know the difference so he didn't venture a guess.

"Hey, there, Mr. Clearwater!" Peter or Brandon exclaimed, his blue eyes wide. Another young man nearly identical came to the door. They smiled at Seth, matching lazy grins.

"Is everything alright?" Seth asked apprehensively.

"Oh yes," the one who answered the door replied, "Esther's here!"

Seth's eyes grew wide and he tried to reign in the urge to turn and run all the way back to his cabin at the foot of the mountain.

He spotted her then, standing with her hands akimbo, and her eyes pleading. She'd never looked so beautiful.

"Seth," she whispered before casting her eyes to the floor and blushing furiously.

Alice, who had been arguing with her niece, looked between the two of them with raised eyebrows. Between Seth who looked like he would throw up and Esther who looked ready to spontaneously combust, Alice couldn't help but giggle a little. Her husband sent her a reprimanding look.

"Seth, I'm sorry but, we won't be needing you today. I think the flowers will be alright without you—you can go home," Jasper said quietly.

Alice sighed, "Esther, come along, we need to talk."

"No," the young woman breathed, finally making eye contact with Seth.

He returned her gaze, his dark brown eyes widening.

"Is everything alright here?" He asked again.

"Yes," Alice sighed exasperatedly, "Esther just ran away from home."

"Aunt Alice!" Esther whined, "Don't tell him that!"

"Why not?" Alice asked, resting her fists on her hips and glaring at her niece.

Esther bit her lip, "Because, because you shouldn't tell him that, that's why!"

"Esther, it's fine, I'll pretend like I didn't hear it," Seth said quietly.

She blushed again, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. He smiled at her and she smiled back timidly.

"Seth, you live at the foot of the mountain, would it be terribly out of your way to take Esther home?" Jasper asked, thinking it would be a good compromise for the two young people.

Seth looked at Jasper and for a moment of horror as he thought about actually taking her home. Carlisle Cullen had been cordial to him—but seeing as his daughter had just run away, if Seth showed up with her, he figured that Carlisle would have no qualms with shooting him.

And besides, it wasn't like Esther would want to walk home with him, anyway. To her, he was probably just some creepy older guy.

Or maybe…he wasn't. Seth couldn't tell. She never looked at him directly, but that could be because she couldn't stand the sight of him. He didn't know. Women were hard to decipher.

"Would you really do that, Seth?" She asked in a voice barely above a whisper. She had hope in her deep, brown eyes and Seth found himself smiling at her.

"I would," he couldn't help but reply. He knew it was probably a death sentence on his part; but something about Esther, something in the way she spoke or a certain spark in her eyes made him feel like she was the center of the universe.

* * *

**Sorry I didn't update on Tuesday--I haven't written nearly as much of this story as I would have liked to. I was going to write it this week, but then I started writing my entry for the Epic T rated contest, and I'm still working on that. I should get back into the swing of writing this sometime soon, but in the meantime updates might be a little late, but I'll always tell you when they'll be. So the next update will be on Tuesday.**

**And now, starts the drama of this story. I was originally just going to make this a fluff-fic, but this idea just kind of came to me. ;) It should be interesting, no?**

**Oh! And thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! I had a good day! :)**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**"Esther?" Seth asked, swallowing thickly. He could feel his stomach knot with nerves.**

**"Yes?" She replied, twisting her head around to look into his eyes.**

**"If it's alright with you," he said trying to keep his voice from betraying how nervous he was, "may I ask your father for permission to court you."**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Snowfall

"_Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires."__  
-__Francois de La Rochefoucauld_

Carlisle thought of a million things to tell his eldest daughter as he rode his horse down the mountainside and into town. Some of them were nice, good things and others consisted of the punishment that would last a lifetime.

He was beside himself. There was nothing in the world more precious to him than his family, and Esther knew that. But she had left anyway. And had had the audacity to tell him not to worry!

Carlisle reasoned that she could very well figure out what she wanted to do with her life with her parents rather than with her aunt and uncle.

As he rode snow started to fall around him, large, wet flakes that clung to his hair and his jacket and made the road a muddy, slippery mess.

He dug his heels into the horse's sides so that he would go faster, he needed to allow for the time it would take to get Esther back on the horse with him and then still get back up to the cabin in time for the pass to snow over.

He sighed, his breath catching the wind and fanning out in front of him like a hot, little cloud.

The snow upon the mountain peaks creaked and moaned with the added weight of the new snow.

Carlisle flinched as he glanced up to the mountains; he prayed that the snow stayed in place for just a couple more hours—just long enough to allow for him and Esther to get back through.

He pressed on, farther through the veil of trees to Jasper's house, thinking of ways to bring his little girl home.

"Sorry I didn't bring my horses into town, so we'll have to walk," Seth said a little sheepishly as he and Esther walked down the porch steps of the Cullen's house.

"It's alright," Esther said softly, tucking her hands under her elbows to keep them warm.

Seth noticed her shiver a little and before she could protest he had removed his thick coat and had draped it around her shoulders. He walked partially behind her so that he could wrap his arms around her and rub her arms in hopes that the friction would cause heat.

"Thank you," she replied, glad that he was behind her and couldn't see her blush.

Seth smiled at her and bent his head slightly forward so that he could inhale the fresh scent of her hair.

"Seth?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes?" He replied.

She mumbled something and then said a little louder, "Oh, never mind."

"Hm?" Seth sighed, "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just—it's nothing," Esther said hastily. Inside she truly wanted to ask him how he felt about her. Because at that moment with his arms wrapped around her in such a loving way—it felt as if he had feelings of affection for her, but she didn't want to misspeak and embarrass herself.

Seth sighed, he too wanted to talk to her about what they felt for each other—but there were rules of propriety and he had to adhere to them. He knew that he was going to speak to Carlisle.

He had to.

"Esther?" Seth asked, swallowing thickly. He could feel his stomach knot with nerves.

"Yes?" She replied, twisting her head around to look into his eyes.

"If it's alright with you," he said trying to keep his voice from betraying how nervous he was, "may I ask your father for permission to court you."

Esther felt like she had just taken flight, beaming happily at him she opened her mouth to all but shout yes.

"Her father actually has to give permission first," a voice growled.

Esther's eyes popped wide open as she spun around to look at her father from where he stood about ten feet from them. He held the reigns of his horse loosely in one and his other hand was fisted at his side.

"Mr. Cullen!" Seth exclaimed, releasing Esther from his grasp.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Carlisle asked between his clenched teeth.

"I was—I was just walking Esther home," Seth replied hastily.

"Oh?" Carlisle asked, glaring at the younger man, "I was under the impression that she was at Alice and Jasper's house."

"Papa, I was! Uncle Jasper asked Seth to walk me home!" Esther replied.

Carlisle glared between the two young people, from Esther's brown, pleading gaze to Seth who, surprisingly, was standing his ground—Carlisle didn't think the boy had it in him to stand up to him.

"Esther, come with me right this moment," Carlisle commanded.

"Papa, please, just listen to Seth and I!" Esther reasoned.

"I don't think you're in a position to ask anything of me, Esther," Carlisle shot back. "We will be going home now—and we'll discuss your punishment when we get there."

"I'm not a little girl anymore!" Esther shouted, "I can make my own decisions!"

"No, you're not a little girl anymore—but just because you're growing up doesn't mean that you can disrespect me and overrule my authority as your father," Carlisle said in an even voice.

"Papa," Esther said, feeling tears prick her eyes, "I'm sorry—I didn't mean to upset you, I just needed space and time alone to think."

"Well, you can have as much space and time to think this winter—come along," he said, swinging himself back up into the saddle.

"Can Seth come with us?" She asked, not moving from her position next to the young man in question—she slipped her hand into his, "He has something he wants to talk to you about."

Seth squeezed her hand, "Not today, Esther. Go with your father today before the pass closes up and then I'll come calling in spring."

"But," she protested, he silenced her with a finger over the lips.

"Please don't argue, I promise you I will be there in the spring, nothing will stop me. Go now, before the blizzard really starts up!"

Esther stared into his eyes, making sure that he was telling her the truth. She nodded and went to her father.

Carlisle was surprised that the young man had made no move on asking after his daughter. But, then maybe he'd been wrong to assume that Seth was up to no good. He started to see Seth then, for what he was. A young man with a good head on his shoulders and stars in his eyes whenever he looked at the young woman. Carlisle had been like that once.

He brushed that thought away and pulled Esther into the saddle in front of him. He spurred the horse on to a trot but stopped a little bit away.

"Papa, what are—" Esther began to ask, but he gave her a wistful smile.

"Seth!" He called over his shoulder.

"Yes sir?" Seth replied, surprised.

"We'll see you come spring," Carlisle said with a hint of a smile.

Seth smiled back, "The day the pass opens, I'll be there."

"Good," Carlisle replied.

"Papa," Esther replied, her voice thick with emotion, "thank you."

"I love you Esther, as does he. Just don't grow up too fast, alright?"

"Alright, Papa," she replied, resting her head under his chin as they trotted back up to the cabin.

Seth leaned against the side of his house; he'd followed Carlisle and Esther up until the pass where his house was. Esther had turned and leaned around Carlisle to wave to him.

Thankful that Carlisle's back was turned he gestured to his heart and then pretended to throw it to her. He felt like such a lovesick puppy, but it felt good, right. He was happy.

He stood with his back against his door, watching his breath form a little cloud in front of his lips.

He held his coat in his hand. The coat Esther had worn, when Seth had reached his house Esther had given it back to him.

It smelled like her.

Something sweet, like peaches or some other kind of fruit and then some, rich creamy smell that he was entirely convinced was simply Esther.

He sighed blissfully to himself—in that one smile Carlisle had flashed him, he saw acceptance. He saw that he would have to work hard to deserve her; but, he knew that already.

He could see his future unfold in that smile.

He sighed and pressed the lining of the jacket to the bottom half of his face. Partially to hide his grin and partially to inhale deeply, once again, the sweet scent of the young woman he'd fallen in love with.

He laughed quietly to himself before another sound captured his attention. Louder than the far off clops of hooves against the road he heard an ominous crack as the snow on the mountain shifted.

Esther and Carlisle were just out of sight—and Seth looked to the mountains and watched in a moment of complete, frozen terror as a wall of snow fell from the peak into the pass below.

The noise was deafening, cracks as the torrent, of thick white snow brought huge trees to the ground, and buried all below. And Carlisle and Esther were still in the pass.

Seth dropped the coat and fell to his knees.

They couldn't have been out of the pass yet. They were trapped inside, under a thick, deep wave of white death.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!! Poor Seth....**

**Sorry it took me so long to update this. I got a little carried away writing "Creeping Dose" [you should go read it after you review this! ;)] and then I had my prom this weekend!! I totally had a Twilight moment at prom, mainly because I couldn't walk. So I know how Bella feels about having to limp around at your junior prom. Only I didn't have an Edward to help me around or let me stand on his feet while we danced. [pouts] I got stung by a bee on my toe and it swelled up to epic proportions. It was nasty. Still is. But, my date was really nice. I think he appreciated the fact that I could only dance if it was a slow song. Typical boy. **

**Next update should be on Thursday. And then hopefully I'll get back to updating this story regularly.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**For several seconds after the snow fell into the pass below all Seth could hear was the pounding of blood rushing through his ears and his own ragged breathing.**

**"Esther," he breathed and then pushed himself into a standing position and ran forward.**

**The snow was thick and white and felt like a dark expanse, like an impenetrable wall to Seth. He couldn't fight against it. No matter how hard he tried, it was immovable.**

**"No, Esther, no!" He cried, scrambling on top of the heaping piles of snow.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Savior

"_The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it. You and you alone make me feel that I am alive. Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough."__  
-__George Edward Moore_

For several seconds after the snow fell into the pass below all Seth could hear was the pounding of blood rushing through his ears and his own ragged breathing.

"Esther," he breathed and then pushed himself into a standing position and ran forward.

The snow was thick and white and felt like a dark expanse, like an impenetrable wall to Seth. He couldn't fight against it. No matter how hard he tried, it was immovable.

"No, Esther, no!" He cried, scrambling on top of the heaping piles of snow.

And then he saw her, half buried, her eyes closed and a sick stream of crimson liquid streaming from her hairline.

He ran to her, and dug furiously at her buried waist. He managed to get her out of the snow, and she groaned—her eyes fluttering open.

"Seth?"

"I'm here, I'm here, you're alright," he soothed, carefully brushing her hair away from her eyes.

"My head hurts."

"I know, love, I'll try to make it better, but I need to find your father," he said hoisting her into his arms.

Carlisle was nowhere to be seen, Esther had somehow managed to bring her head above the wave of snow, but Carlisle was completely buried. Seth felt defeated once again. He couldn't let Carlisle die, buried in snow.

He had to fight, he had to save him.

He ran Esther back to his cabin and wrapped her in an afghan she could warm up a little. She seemed lucid, but that didn't mean he felt alright with leaving her alone—but he still had to find Carlisle.

He ran back to the snow and started his search where he found Esther. "Please, God," he prayed, "help me find him."

He dug until his bare fingers turned purple and felt numb. And then he dug some more, occasionally switching his search to different patches of promising-looking snow.

And then he found something. A sleeve of Carlisle's coat. And then an arm, and eventually the man's head.

Seth excavated with renewed zeal trying with all his might to bring the man to the surface. Once he had finished he pressed his ear against Carlisle's chest. His heart was a faint murmur and his breathing was shallow. Too shallow.

Seth made the several attempts to help steady his breathing, but then just hoisted Carlisle into his arms and loped back to his cabin. He grunted under the older man's dead weight but pushed forward.

"Papa!" Esther cried, lurching forward when Seth entered the cabin. Her knees buckled under her and she fell to the ground.

Seth ached to go to her, but he had to take care of Carlisle, he sprinted to his bed and then returned to help Esther up.

She pushed him away, "I'm fine! Is he ok?! Papa!"

"Calm down," he said, putting his frozen hands on her shoulders, "You need to calm down! He's going to be alright, I'll make sure of it."

"Seth!" She sobbed, collapsing against his chest.

"Shh," he smoothed down her hair, "I need to go help your father and you need to sit down."

"I want to help," she said with conviction in her voice.

"You're hurt, too," he reasoned.

"No I'm not," she replied.

"Please, Esther," he pleaded. She nodded, resigned and slide back into the rocking chair by the fire. Tears escaping her eyes.

Seth ran back into his bedroom, his hands hovering helplessly over Carlisle. His body was cold but his breathing seemed to be a little better.

He got several thick blankets from the chest at the foot of the bed and draped some over Carlisle's prone form and then put some to warm in front of the fire. He knew he had to go get the doctor, but he didn't feel safe leaving Esther all alone.

"Esther," he said softly.

She turned to look at him, her eyes were tired, and she had dried blood crusted against her beautiful face. Seth lost a little bit of his control then and gave a breathless sob—this was not what he had expected would happen.

He never wanted to see her hurt.

"I need to go get the doctor, but I can't leave you two here alone," he said softly.

"No, go do what you need to do to help my papa," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. He didn't miss the small grimace that passed over her face.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said, and because he felt he could, he swept her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

* * *

The town physician was Doctor Vega, a kind old man with a Spanish accent, and a son-in-law that also happened to be a Cullen.

He had been spending a pleasant, snowy evening playing with his young granddaughters, Anna and Rosalina, but when a pounding knock broke him from his reverie he was a little upset.

On the other side of his door was young Seth Clearwater, looking winded and frozen. He invited the young man in to warm up by the fire but Seth shook his head.

"I need you to come immediately," he swallowed and tried to catch his breath, "there's been an accident."

* * *

Dr. Vega surveyed the damage with a stark, clinical gaze. He tried not to think about the striking resemblance this man bore to another young man he had come to think of as his son.

"He appears to have a fracture in this leg due to the swelling, and a mild case of hypothermia—you'll want to watch this to make sure it doesn't turn into pneumonia."

Seth nodded, "He's not waking up—should he be?"

"After such severe trauma, I assume he's just retreated into his mind," he replied, scratching at his graying beard, "but keep him as comfortable as possible."

"There's nothing we can do to wake him up?" Esther asked fresh tears in her eyes. She stood, leaning against the doorjamb, trying to pretend she wasn't dizzy.

"No," Dr. Vega replied, "and now, you, young lady will go sit down while I take a look at the head wound."

"Oh, it's nothing! I feel fine," she tried to say but Seth was already maneuvering her into the rocking chair. She sat down and glared at him.

"Please let him make sure you're alright," Seth pleaded softly.

She couldn't say 'no' to him. Not with that saddened look in his eyes and the pleading way his mouth moved.

The good doctor moved his hands gently around the young woman's head. He considered her to be part of his family, and to say that he was surprised to see her in a chaste but not exactly platonic relationship with Seth Clearwater was an understatement.

"You just have a bad cut, here," he said, gently washing the dried blood from her cheek. "But, you will be fine."

"Thank you," Esther replied softly, leaning forward to kiss the old man's cheek softly.

"You're welcome, little Esther," he said, patting her knee.

"How can I repay you, doctor?" Seth asked, seeing Dr. Vega to the door.

"Just take care of those two." The doctor replied, and then put his hand on Seth's shoulder, "They'll be fine. But you might want to send word to their family what has happened, wouldn't want Miss Esme worrying."

Seth nodded, he knew he had to get word to Esme somehow, but he had no idea how. But for the moment, he had to tend to Esther and Carlisle.

"Esther, I'm going to wait until your father wakes up, and then I'm going to hike through the forest to tell your mother what's going on."

"Don't leave us," Esther said quietly, sitting next to her father on the bed and smoothing his hair away from his brow.

"I don't want to, Esther; but, I have to tell your mother what's going on."

"Please, have someone else do it, but don't leave me."

"Esther, you can't stay here—I have to take you both over to Jasper and Alice's."

"No!" Esther protested.

"Esther," Seth said quietly, he touched her gently on the cheek. "You and your father are going to go spend the winter with one of your uncles and I will go up to your parents' cabin and help your mother."

"I want to stay with you," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know, and I would much rather stay here and be with you; but, we have to be responsible. And now, you should lie down and rest. You've had a long day."

She giggled a little and smiled at him, "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

Seth sighed, "I hadn't actually thought about that."

"It's alright," she said, leaning forward to press her lips against his cheek.

He caught her face between his hands and kept her close to him, "I'm so sorry, Esther. I should have protected you."

"No," she said softly, pressing her fingertips against his mouth. "There was nothing you could do to prevent the avalanche."

"But I was the reason you ran away, wasn't I?" Seth asked.

Esther looked down at her lap, "Technically, yes. But, Seth, it's not your fault. You came to dig us out—you risked your own health to make sure that we were safe. Seth, I can never repay you for saving my papa's life, or my own life."

"I don't want you to repay me," he said honestly. "I just want to be your friend, be close to you."

She smirked, "I think we can arrange that."

* * *

**Would I really kill the Cullens? Seriously, people. I know I'm notorious for putting them in near-death situations, but those are just near-death situations not death situations. **

**I don't know if I'll be able to update again until next Thursday. I'm only one chapter ahead on this story--and I just figured out this morning where exactly I wanted it to go with it. I had to talk it over with my sister [who is my main go-to person if I need to talk through a story] while I drove us to school. Anyways, I also have another extremely busy weekend, and I don't think I'll have any time to get major writing done. Hopefully, I'll at least get enough in that I can update on Tuesday--but I'm not sure. It's the end of school and stuff like that and I'm starting to get extremely stressed out, so bear with me, please. **

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**She went back up to her bedroom and spread the quilt over the bed. She smoothed it down several times before climbing under the covers. She slept on Carlisle's side of the bed-hugging his pillows to her chest. **

**She turned to stare out the window, out towards the pass, a lone tear winding it's way down her cheek.**

**"Carlisle, how can you protect us if you're gone?"**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Dreaming

"_I have always been amazed at the way an ordinary observer lends so much more credence and attaches so much more importance to waking events than to those occurring in dreams... Man... is above all the plaything of his memory."__  
-__Andre Breton_

"Carlisle should've been back by now," Esme said, sitting on the front porch, cocooned in the thick quilt from her and Carlisle's bed. She pressed it against her nose—it smelled of Carlisle. No matter how much she washed it—whether with lye soap or with the scented soap she bought from the general store—it always seemed to smell of him.

She sighed, "Carlisle, where are you?"

Eve and Elena were asleep in their beds; unaware of their mother's worrying.

Esme rested her head against one of the thick, oak porch-posts and closed her eyes.

_"Esme?"_

_"What is it, Carlisle?" Esme asked rolling over to face her husband. No matter how many times she looked at him, he always seemed to get more handsome. _

_"Do you think I'll be like that?"_

_"Like what?" She asked, pressing her face against his chest and inhaling._

_"Like how all of those fathers were today," he sighed, wrapping his bare arms around her back, "do you think I'll be that overprotective."_

_She thought about it for a moment, "You'll be fine. Being overprotective isn't such a bad thing."_

_Carlisle sighed and shifted away from his wife. She tried to catch him by the waistband of his pants but he had already slid out of bed._

_"Carlisle," she called, exasperatedly, burying her face in her pillow._

_"Go to sleep, my Esme," he said softly, returning to the bed for a moment to press a kiss to her forehead._

_"I can't go to sleep, I can only sleep if you're holding me," she muttered pushing herself up on her elbows._

_Carlisle was kneeling on the floor at the foot of their bed, his head bent over the intricately carved cradle. The baby inside was swaddled in a crocheted, pink blanket—the edges framing her little, white face. _

_He had a look of awe on his face as he gently stroked his young daughter's cheek. _

_She stirred a little, one fist finding its way up to her face and grasping onto her father's finger. He wiggled the captured digit and smiled fondly._

_"I promise, Esther, I'll protect you."_

_Esme scooted down to the foot of the bed and peered into the bassinet. "Carlisle, that's quite the promise to keep."_

_"It's true," he said in a reverent whisper._

_He leaned down to kiss his child's soft fingers, "I'll make sure that she's always happy. My daughter will never be sad."_

_"You can't promise that, Carlisle," Esme sighed, running her fingers through his hair._

_"Yes, I can," he said confidently. "I can and I will. She's my daughter and I will make her happy."_

_Esme smiled softly at her husband and scratched his scalp, tousling his hair just a little bit. _

_"You should let her go to sleep—she'll be awake again before we know it."_

_"One more moment," Carlisle said, still playing with his daughter's little fingers._

_Esme laughed fondly at her husband before climbing under their thick quilt and snuggling against her pillows. _

_The bed shifted under Carlisle's weight as he climbed back in and pulled Esme against his chest. "I promise, I'll always protect you both."_

Esme jerked awake, her lips were numb from having fallen asleep on the porch while it was snowing. She stood, stretching her stiff limbs and walked into the house.

She went back up to her bedroom and spread the quilt over the bed. She smoothed it down several times before climbing under the covers. She slept on Carlisle's side of the bed—hugging his pillows to her chest.

She turned to stare out the window, out towards the pass, a lone tear winding it's way down her cheek.

"Carlisle, how can you protect us if you're gone?"

* * *

_Carlisle cradled one of his daughter's hands in the crook of his elbow as he fiddled with the buttons of his jacket with the other._

_"Papa, you look fine, stop fussing over your jacket," his daughter scolded._

_Carlisle looked over at her. She looked so much like his Esme. The eyes, the hair, the way she pursed her lips when she smiled. _

_She leaned forward and kissed his cheek and then straightened up to adjust her dress. _

_It was beautiful, white embroidered flowers on the silky fabric that flowed under her bust. Her hair was in an intricate bun, flowers that mimicked the embroidery placed at random places in the brown tresses._

_"You're so beautiful," Carlisle murmured, brushing his fingertips against her cheek._

_She laughed. "Thank you."_

_"Are you happy, Esther?" Carlisle asked._

_"Exceedingly so," Esther beamed._

_Carlisle sighed, this was his little girl—his baby. So happy, abundantly happy._

_He couldn't help but admit that her happiness was rubbing off on him a little. He smiled slightly, fidgeting with the buttons on his coat once more._

_"Papa?"_

_"Yes?" Carlisle murmured._

_"Stop fidgeting, you're making me nervous." Esther laughed._

_"I'm sorry," Carlisle said, kissing her temple._

_"Are you ready, Papa?" She asked as Carlisle heard a dauntingly familiar tune cue up on the piano._

_"As ready as I'll ever be, Esther."_

Carlisle jerked awake, staring bemusedly at his unfamiliar surroundings.

A dark-paneled ceiling and windows white with falling snow. He was in a room decorated with wooden furniture and in a bed with a woven blanket on it. There was a low fire burning in the fireplace on the opposite wall.

It was all so unfamiliar.

He tried desperately to remember what had happened, but all he could remember was taking Esther home. He didn't remember getting home, he was sure he would have remembered the fight that would have undoubtedly ensued once he and Esther had arrived back at the Cullen's cabin.

But all he remembered was holding Esther against his chest as they rode through the mountain pass. And then he was there, in a strange bed surrounded by strange walls.

"Esme?" He called frantically.

His voice surprised him; it was old and raspy sounding; thick as if he had been asleep for a very long time.

"Mr. Cullen?" A timid voice called in a loud whisper.

Carlisle blinked several times and stared at the figure silhouetted in the doorframe.

"Mr. Cullen, it's me, Seth Clearwater."

The Clearwater boy? Carlisle thought, his mind a muddled mess. He squinted trying to bring the young man into focus.

"What am I doing here?" He asked, fiddling with the edge of the blanket.

"There was an avalanche," Seth said quietly, unable to look Carlisle in the eye.

Carlisle's stomach twisted painfully and he stared at Seth with wide, horror-filled eyes. "Esther! Oh God! Esther!" I howled, trying to sit up in the bed.

"She's fine!" Seth said, pressing the older man back down into the bed, "she's asleep now."

"You saved us." It wasn't a question. Carlisle could see it in the young man's eyes, and in his hands that were loosely wrapped in swatches of white fabric. Underneath Carlisle could see the beginnings of frost-bitten fingers.

Seth looked down, abashed, "Yes."

"Thank you," Carlisle nodded.

Seth fiddled with the edges of his bandages, "Doctor Vega came by earlier, he said that we should keep you warm so you don't catch pneumonia—and that you have a broken leg. I'm leaving in the morning, to hike through the mountains and go help your wife over the winter.

"I'm going to take Esther over to Alice and Jasper's, I talked to Doctor Vega about asking Garrett to come help me move you both over there."

"My wife!" Carlisle groaned, staring at his bandaged leg as it created a lump under the heap of blankets, "she must be worried sick."

Seth grimaced, "That's why I'm leaving as soon as daylight breaks. Esther doesn't like the fact that I'm hiking up there; but, it needs to be done."

Carlisle stared at the ceiling for a moment, breathing deeply even though his lungs still felt frozen.

Esme would be safe, at least.

Seth was going to go help take care of her and his daughters. And he and Esther would have to spend several long months away from them.

He didn't like that notion. Having to spend so much time away from his wife; he wanted so badly to just throw the blankets away from his body and rip the splint from his leg and traipse back up to his cabin with Seth that next morning. But he couldn't.

He turned his head to study the young man.

He couldn't think of anything else to say to him but, "Thank you, son."

* * *

**Warning, long author's note ahead.**

**Sorry I didn't update on Tuesday. I tried, I really did--but no matter how much I wrote I couldn't seem to get the next couple of chapters finished. My weekend was crazy busy, as I said last Thursday. Friday my best friends and I went to an amusement park and then I had to leave the park early to go do a dress rehearsal for a dance recital. I got to the theater at 4 o'clock on the dot and didn't leave until 9. Needless to say Friday night I was exhausted. Saturday was the actual dance recital, I stayed at the theater from 12 'til 7. So it was a rather long day. Sunday we had church, and then a drama practice and then something I didn't know about: a leadership meeting for my youth group! I wasn't expecting having to go to a 2 hour meeting on Sunday evening, I planned on writing. But, no. Guess not.**

**I have a question for you guys before I talk about this chapter: Would you like to see more regular updates but with shorter chapters? Or the same sometimes screwy updates with longer chapters? Hopefully this poll won't even really matter and I'll start to have more time to write, but Real Life sometimes happens and I'm sad to say I'm a victim of a busy schedule. **

**About this chapter: In the beginning Esme is kind of having a flashback. She's asleep but the stuff in italics is a memory. In Carlisle's part there, he's dreaming about the future--what life will be like in a couple of years. **

**I almost ended this story right there at the end of this chapter, because Carlisle finally accepted Seth. He called him "son". But, no, you guys get more of the Cullens because I'm insane like that.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Two Hours' Traffic, because of her hilarious reviews and her support. I hope you like this chapter!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**"You should consider yourself lucky," Garrett boomed, walking into Seth's small cabin.**

**Carlisle flinched and glared at his brother, "Yes, we're both very lucky-we owe our lives to Mr. Clearwater."**

**Garrett smiled and shook hands with Seth and then his brother and then kissed his niece's forehead.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Departure

"_Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast. If a man habituated to a narrow circle of cares and pleasures, out of which he seldom travels, step beyond it, though for never so brief a space, his departure from the monotonous scene on which he has been an actor of importance would seem to be the signal for instant confusion. The mine which Time has slowly dug beneath familiar objects is sprung in an instant; and what was rock before, becomes but sand and dust.__"_

_-Charles Dickens_

"You should consider yourself lucky," Garrett boomed, walking into Seth's small cabin.

Carlisle flinched and glared at his brother, "Yes, we're both very lucky—we owe our lives to Mr. Clearwater."

Garrett smiled and shook hands with Seth and then his brother and then kissed his niece's forehead.

Seth smiled modestly, his arm wrapped loosely around Esther's waist. Carlisle was trying to pretend it wasn't there. He was trying to pick his battles, so he just gritted his teeth and pushed himself up on his elbows.

"I brought the wagon so that we can take Carlisle over to Jasper's," Garrett said. "You better be appreciative, brother, Kate wanted to go visit her father this weekend."

"I know," Carlisle sighed. Kate and Garrett had moved south with her father after they were married and had just recently moved back because Kate's father had been remarried. They had one daughter, a refined young woman named Sophie.

"She'll get over it; she's just worried about the two of you."

Esther smiled affectionately at her uncle, "We're both fine."

"Carlisle, are you ready to move?" Seth asked, looking apprehensively at the man. His eyes darting between his pale face and his splinted leg.

"I'm fine," Carlisle growled through gritted teeth as he pushed tried to push himself to his feet.

"Carlisle," Garrett warned sternly, catching his older brother under the arms and helping him limp out to the wagon.

Esther sighed as Seth walked her to the wagon, "I wish he wasn't so stubborn."

Seth shrugged, "I would be that stubborn if I were in his position."

"You and Uncle Garrett are just trying to help," Esther said softly, "he should be grateful."

"Oh he is," Seth smirked, "it's a man thing. We like to be able to do things ourselves."

"That's chauvinistic," Esther said plainly, arching her eyebrows at him.

"No, it's the truth," he said, pressing his hand against the small of her back and leading her through the front door of his cabin, "men are pigheaded and stubborn and independent, let your father have some of his independence still—I know you're worried about him, dear, but he'll be fine."

Esther harrumphed and crossed her arms across her chest, "Are you sure he's fine?"

"I'm sure—he wouldn't be trying so hard to do things on his own if he wasn't," Seth said hugging her tightly to his side.

"I don't want him to overexert himself," she whispered to her beau.

"He won't, he knows his limits," Seth assured her, placing at kiss to her brow as he helped her into the back of the wagon alongside her father.

She leaned her head gently against his shoulder, enjoying the closeness.

"Please, Papa, don't hurt yourself more because you want to do things yourself," she pleaded with him, unleashing the force of big, brown eyes on him.

He looked over to her and sighed—he saw too much of his wife in those pleading eyes—he closed his eyes and replied, "I'll try not to, Esther."

"Thank you, Papa," she said quietly.

He sighed and stared at the snow peaked mountains, worrying about his wife. Carlisle knew that Seth intended to hike through the mountains to get to his cabin and help take care of his family while he couldn't. He was grateful, but angry all at the same time.

He felt so useless.

"Papa," Esther said, shaking his shoulder lightly, "we're here, do you want Uncle Garrett to help you out of the wagon?"

"No thank you, I think I can manage," he said tiredly, sliding to the edge of the wagon and then teetering precariously on his one good leg. Garrett and Jasper watched their eldest brother hobble past them and into the living room.

Peter and Brandon obediently stood out of the way to allow their uncle entrance to their home. Carlisle made his way, slowly, to the guest bedroom. Alice had prepared the bed with extra pillows and warm blankets.

His brothers hovered uselessly in the doorway, "Are you alright?" Garrett asked, raising his eyebrows up to his receding hairline.

"I'm fine," Carlisle sighed heavily—his eyelids felt like they weighed several hundred pounds, and his chest felt numb and tired. He really just wanted to go to sleep and forget about the pain in his leg and lungs for a while.

"I'll have Alice bring you some soup in a little bit—Seth's about to head off, do you have anything particular you want him to tell Esme?" Jasper asked, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

Carlisle forced his eyes open for a moment and then found Seth staring at from the doorway.

"Just tell her that I'm sorry I couldn't be there for her—tell her I love her," Carlisle said, as his eyes slid closed again.

"I promise, Mr. Cullen, I will," Seth averred, even though Carlisle didn't have the strength to open his eyes and read the young man's face—the honesty of his words rang true.

Carlisle nodded and then fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

"Be safe," Esther whispered, tugging on the lapels of Seth's heavy, wool coat.

He leaned down to accommodate her shorter height and took her face between his glove-encased hands, "I promise, Esther. I will be safe."

"I'll miss you," she said softly—she felt very childish saying it, not like the woman she was striving to be.

"I'll miss you, too," he said, sounding very much like a little boy, and she had to smile.

Esther's aunts and uncles had courteously given them some privacy, and were staying inside trying to ready things for Carlisle. Peter and Brandon, however, had their little noses pressed against the glass watching in awe as their eldest cousin pressed her lips against her young beau's.

She pulled away slowly, deliberately.

"Tell Mama that I'll miss her," she said, adjusting his jacket as it had gotten slightly rumpled during their kiss.

"I'll be sure to, don't worry about me or your mother or your sisters—I'll make sure we all stay safe this winter," he said quietly.

"You'll have to do al the outside chores, Mama can do the inside ones—make sure to chop enough wood to keep Eve and Elena's room, Mama's room and the sitting room warm—the kitchen should stay warm from the heat made by cooking."

"Esther," he said softly, putting his fingers across her rapidly moving lips, "I know, my dear, I took care of my mother and sister after my father died a couple of years ago, I know how to take care of a family."

Those words, though out of context, sent a thrill through Esther; a small smile crept across her face.

He saw it, too; and, belatedly realized the double-meaning of his words, "I can take care of you."

"I don't doubt it," she said, standing on her toes to give him another kiss.

It felt so right to kiss him. Nothing holding them back, they had conquered that part of their lives—that dark unknowing, whether or not they would be allowed to thrive.

But here they were, holding onto the light. There was a long winter ahead—something neither of them was looking forward to, but together—or apart—they could get through it.

"I've got to go now, my sweet Esther," Seth said, brushing his fingertips against the length of her cheekbone.

She grabbed his hand and held it in both of her smaller ones, "I will pray for you to arrive safely—take good care of them, and yourself."

He chuckled and bent his face forward to rub his nose against hers—Eskimo kiss—and then pulled away, "I'll take care of myself, but you must take care of yourself, and watch out for your papa."

"I will," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and pulling him to her tightly. They didn't say goodbye with a kiss, or words whispered lovingly in each other's ears. They bid farewell with a long embrace, holding tightly to each other, holding on to the hope that tomorrow would be alright—holding on so that the memory of the other's scent, the way their hearts beat right next to each other, would stay ingrained in their memories until they met again.

* * *

**I swear I tried really hard to get this chapter out this morning. But, things conspired against me. First, the Internet at my school was down--so I couldn't get on before classes started. Then when it came back up, I was a selfish bum and read some of the stories that I like that updated...and then after I finished Chemistry I was going to get on and do it--but one of my guy friends and I had to work on a picture slide-show for the awards ceremony at my school tonight. And there were so many problems with that stupid slide-show that I thought I was going to have a panic attack. **

**But I'm finally updating! Thank God for the long weeked, because I was able at least get slightly ahead in writing this story. I'm going to start doing time-skips in this because I want to wrap it up in the next couple of weeks. **

**If all goes as planned, the next update should be on Thursday. And thanks to all of you guys who gave me feedback on the 'quicker updates' vs. 'longer chapters' issue. I'm going to keep writing the same kind of chapters that I'm used to writing and updating whenever I can. Thanks to everyone for their support!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**Esme pulled him forward into the house, "You're frozen to the bone-come, sit by the fire, you can explain later."**

**He continued babbling, though. Pouring the whole story out in a torrent past his frozen, trembling lips. Esme was startled but unfazed. She led him to the rocker near the fire and bustled past him and up the stairs.**

**Eve came running forward from her position of hiding behind the kitchen doorway, "Who are you?" She demanded of the frozen man, sitting by the fireplace.**

**"I'm Seth Clearwater," Seth replied, rubbing his bluish fingers together trying to regain circulation.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Long Winter

"_O, wind,  
If Winter comes,  
__can Spring be far behind?"  
-Percy Bysshe Shelley_

There are times when one is so cold that it feels like their very organs are shaking from being frozen. Seth was just that cold. It felt like there was no way his journey would ever end. He couldn't remember the last time that he been warm. It was really only several days, but it felt like a lifetime.

And then after several long days, having been stuck in the forested mountains, Seth found himself looking at a snow-encased red barn, and behind that red barn there was a little log cabin.

And then, all the nights huddled under ice-incrusted trees, all those nights of dreaming about warm fires, and Esther's arms meant something. Because he was finally there.

His legs and toes and fingertips and nose were numb, but he could finally see the end to his long journey.

The door to the cabin opened and Esme came out onto the porch. Of all the sights she was expecting, Seth Clearwater standing in the middle of her snow-covered yard was not something she had anticipated.

She gasped and ran forward to catch the young man just as his legs buckled under him, numb from the insufferable cold.

"Mr. Clearwater!" She exclaimed, doing her best to support his weight.

He sighed, pressing his face against her shoulder for the warmth, "Carlisle…and Esther are alright—there was an avalanche. Carlisle has a broken leg, but he'll heal. I came to help you this winter." He said, gasping for breath.

Esme pulled him forward into the house, "You're frozen to the bone—come, sit by the fire, you can explain later."

He continued babbling, though. Pouring the whole story out in a torrent past his frozen, trembling lips. Esme was startled but unfazed. She led him to the rocker near the fire and bustled past him and up the stairs.

Eve came running forward from her position of hiding behind the kitchen doorway, "Who are you?" She demanded of the frozen man, sitting by the fireplace.

"I'm Seth Clearwater," Seth replied, rubbing his bluish fingers together trying to regain circulation.

His eyes stung with the violent change in temperature, he was having problems seeing clearly. He could tell that the little girl bore a striking resemblance to both her mother and father—and to he elder sister. But her white-blonde hair stood out like a bright flame over her serious brown eyes.

Eve straightened up and studied the young man; she knew he was the man that her sister had fallen for. But, she had yet to pass judgment on him.

The young girl tossed her white-blonde braids over her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest, her chin jutted out and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Where's Esther?"

Seth looked up at the young woman and half smiled, "She and your father are staying with your Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice for the winter—they couldn't make it through the woods, the hike would've been too hard on them."

"My papa's strong, he could've made it," Eve argued.

Esme bustled into the room with an extra blanket and a set of Carlisle's long-johns and trousers. "Go change into these, you can go upstairs and use the master bedroom—it's the first door on the left."

Seth nodded, still numb and stiff, "Thank you, Esme."

Esme smiled at him and then gave Eve a purposeful look, "Be kind to him—he saved your father and sister."

"Where's Papa, then! If Mr. Clearwater saved them, why isn't Papa here?" She demanded, her little hands fisting in the fabric of her hand-me-down dress. Her eyes misted slightly with tears.

"Papa got hurt when the pass got snowed over," Esme said, kneeling in front of her daughter, "His leg is broken, so he couldn't hike through the mountains with Mr. Clearwater."

"But Papa's coming back soon, right?" Eve asked, her bottom lip pouting out as her tears splashed against her reddened cheeks.

"In spring," Esme said softly, "when the pass is open."

"I want Papa to be here now!" The girl cried, bouncing back on her heels and tearing at the fabric she still held in her hands.

"I know—I miss Papa, too. But Mr. Clearwater is going to help us this winter; he'll be here until Papa can come back," Esme said, trying to calm her child. She tried not to think of how lonely this winter would be for herself.

"Does he love Esther?" The little girl whispered, staring at her mother, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip.

Esme smiled slightly, "I don't know."

"He looks like he does," Eve declared, "he looks like he misses her like you miss Papa."

The declaration made Esme's heart clench a little—either because she realized in that moment just how much she missed her husband or that she knew then that her daughter wasn't going to be hers for too much longer.

Esme looked over her daughter's shoulder and saw Seth lingering at the foot of the stairs. He had a look on his face that said he had heard their conversation, he cast his eyes downward.

"Go play with Elena," Esme said, shooing the girl out of the room.

"Tell me, why exactly are you here?" She said, standing and brushing her hands against her skirts.

"Because, I knew you would want to know what was going on—and because I couldn't stay in town with them."

"Why couldn't you stay in town?" Esme asked, confusion written plainly on her face.

"Because," Seth sighed, crossing the room in three, quick strides to stand by the fire, "I want to court your daughter properly, and my staying in town wouldn't have been good for that."

Esme was taken aback by his forwardness, "So you do plan on courting my daughter."

"Yes ma'am, I do," Seth said, rubbing his hands together furiously.

Esme nodded curtly, "Wrap yourself in the quilts to warm yourself, I'm making beef stew for dinner, it should be ready soon."

Seth nodded to her and smiled victoriously. He knew though she wouldn't admit it, that Esme Cullen had accepted his relationship with her eldest.

He was still so cold, and he could feel the frozen air that had settled into his chest.

Seth prayed that he wouldn't get sick with a cold, he wanted to prove himself to Esme—prove that he could provide proper care for her and in turn her daughter.

* * *

"I wish there was a way to know if he arrived safely," Esther said, fixing a plate of food for her father.

"He's a strong young man, of course he made it safely," Alice said, trying to coral her children and husband to the dinner table.

Esther smiled softly, "I wish it were spring already."

"He's been gone two days and you've already got cabin fever from being away from him," Alice snickered, "you've got it bad."

"Oh hush," Esther said to her aunt, giggling. "I'll be eating with Papa."

"I figured you would be—tell me if he needs anything else," Alice sighed, yelling to the boys as she walked into the dining room.

Esther shook her head and walked to the bedroom, balancing two plates of food on her hands, "Dinner's ready, Papa."

Carlisle tried to smile for his daughter as he pushed himself up on his elbows and propped himself up on pillows. He felt like an invalid and it bothered him.

"Don't look so sour," she chastised, "enjoy the food."

He half smiled at her—she'd grown up a lot in the last couple of days, Carlisle had realized. She was so much like her mother, too much like her mother. It made Carlisle miss his wife even more.

"Papa, please eat," Esther urged, pushing the plate of food into his hands.

Carlisle sighed and gazed at his daughter before spooning some fried potatoes into his mouth.

Esther sighed, "Do you need anything else?"

"No," he shook his head, and patted his daughter's hand, "thank you, little Esther."

She smiled for him, "Do you think Seth is alright?"

Carlisle chewed thoughtfully, regarding his daughter with a distant stare.

"Do you feel empty?" He asked after a moment.

He stared into her brown eyes, so that she wouldn't edit her answer.

"Well, no, but I don't see how that has anything to do with—"

"Exactly," Carlisle said, jabbing the air with his fork for emphasis, "did you feel empty, hollow almost, before you realized that you could be together with Seth?"

She was about to answer, but then she closed her mouth quickly, her eyes snapping up to meet her father's. "So he is still alive?"

Carlisle half smiled at her and continued to eat his potatoes. "Believe what your heart tells you, Esther."

"I believe that he made it safely and is going to help Mama take care of the girls this winter," she asserted.

Carlisle leaned forward and tweaked her nose, "That's exactly what I believe, too."

* * *

**Ok, you guys, this is IMPORTANT!! I will NOT BE UPDATING NEXT WEEK. I have an exam e_very single day _next week. So I need to really be focusing on my studies--I'm also taking the SATs next weekend, so if you guys are religious, please pray for me! I'll need it, I tend to freak out when I take tests...I'm really worried about them. So the next update will be on Tuesday June 9.**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**"Seth, we want a story!" Elena announced as she set her fork down on her empty plate.**

**Seth contemplated a story theatrically, tapping one tanned finger against his chin, "Now, you all really don't want to hear my boring stories do you?" **

**"We do!" The little girls cried together.**

**"No you don't, I don't tell good stories," he chuckled just to get a rise out of them.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Stories

"_No __storyteller__ has ever been able to dream up anything as fantastically unlikely as what really does happen in this mad Universe.__"_

_-Lazarus Long_

"Mr. Clearwater!" Eve called running and jumping into his arms. He and Eve and Elena were playing in the snow of the front yard.

They had had a rough last couple of weeks—but the girls and Esme had finally warmed up to Seth, and he had warmed to them. At first, the idea of living with them had been a little odd to him; but he had found that they were amazing and sweet. Esme reminded him a lot of his own mother, and the girls were like the little sisters he never had.

Elena toddled over to him and he swung the child into his arms, she patted his cheeks with her mitten-covered hands and then gave him a sloppy kiss.

He laughed and wiped his face on the back of his hand, "Thank you for that, Elena."

She smiled a gap-toothed grin at him and wiggled until he set her down.

The two girls ran around in their matching hand-knit scarves—Christmas presents from their mother. Seth wore one, too.

Esme stood on the front porch, holding two tin cups of fresh coffee. She handed one to Seth and kept the other for herself.

"How are you holding up?" He asked her, leaning against the porch post near her elbow.

He knew that she was missing Carlisle terribly. On occasion he could hear her crying at night—but he pretended he couldn't. Just like he pretended that his insomnia didn't occur—or that he had nightmares that he and Esther would be separated forever.

"I'm alright," she said slowly, her lips hovering over the rim of her cup. "As childish as it sounds, I wish that I could make time go faster."

"I don't think it sounds childish," Seth said quietly. "I wish I could, too."

She smiled, "Wouldn't it be amazing, if we could?"

"Time has gone fast, Mrs. Cullen, only a couple more months," he sighed, not at all convinced by his words.

She smiled affectionately at the young man. The little girls came bounding over covered in snow and red-faced but happy.

Esme picked up a squealing Elena as Seth swung Eve into his arms. Esme laughed at her daughters, "Why don't we get you two a nice warm bath while Mr. Clearwater cuts us some more firewood then we'll have dinner and bedtime."

The girls nodded and ran into the cabin, peeling their wet clothing off as they went. Seth smiled at Esme and then went around the cabin to cut the wood. He thought about the future as he went.

He thought about playing in the snow with his own children or his grandchildren. He smiled to himself at that though—having a family, not being alone in his little cabin anymore. The thought pleased him.

He finished up with the wood and went inside to where Esme was towel-drying her youngest. The little girl had developed an affection for Seth and so she pulled away from her mother and went to him.

Eve came down the stairs in her nightgown, brushing the wet tangles out of her hair.

She giggled when she saw Mr. Clearwater being attacked by a dripping wet toddler.

"Alright, Sweetie," Esme said pulling the baby from his arms, "Lets go get you dressed; then we'll all have dinner by the fire."

Elena smiled and helped Seth fix the plates of venison stew and then distribute them.

"Seth, we want a story!" Elena announced as she set her fork down on her empty plate.

Seth contemplated a story theatrically, tapping one tanned finger against his chin, "Now, you all really don't want to hear my boring stories do you?"

"We do!" The little girls cried together.

"No you don't, I don't tell good stories," he chuckled just to get a rise out of them.

Esme shook her head as she rocked in her chair.

Elena got up from her chair and stalked over to Seth, she put her hands on his knees and stared straight into his eyes, "Mr. Clearwater, you tell the best stories I've ever heard!"

He laughed and picked her up under the arms and settled her on the settee next to him.

"Alright, a story," he sighed.

"Once upon a time…there lived two little princesses—"

"That's us!" Eve exclaimed happily.

Seth grinned at her, "Anyway, these two princesses lived in a castle, high on the mountaintop. They lived there with the King and Queen and their elder sister—"

"Papa?" Eve asked crawling over to Seth.

"No," he said quietly with a smile in his voice as he bent to pick the little girl up off the floor and set her in her sister's lap, "the King!"

"Oh," she said, her blue eyes wide.

Seth chuckled and continued, "The two young princesses loved to go outside and play in the snow—but one day the evil snow wizard came and swept their father and older sister away!" He exclaimed as he swept away from the couch and grabbed a nearby blanket, he wrapped it around his shoulders like a cloak to imitate the evil snow wizard.

He deepened his voice and glared at the two giggling, little girls, "I am the evil snow wizard! And I have taken your dear Father and sister! And I will only return them when you break the curse I have put upon this mountain!"

"Bad man!" Elena exclaimed waving her pudgy, little hands in the air. "Bad!"

Seth laughed and went to pick up the little girl, "Yes, the evil snow wizard is very bad! But, when the little princesses thought there was no hope—a brave young wolf came."

"Wolves are bad," Eve declared with her hands on her hips, "Papa shoots at them when they come near the house."

"Well, this wolf isn't bad," Seth said quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Fine," she said loftily, settling back against the settee.

Seth smirked at Esme as she looked at him from over her knitting needles, "The brave young wolf came to help the young princesses as they tried to fight off the evil snow wizard—but the brave young wolf was under a curse!"

"Oh no!" Eve exclaimed and Seth had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He could hear a muffled giggle from Esme but she smothered it with her hand.

"The wolf was cursed, because he really was a prince but because he had saved the King and eldest princess from the evil snow wizard—the wizard had turned him into a dog.

"But he figured the only way to break the curse was to continue helping the good King's family and so he became the protector of the two beautiful young princesses."

"That's a silly way for a curse to be broken," Eve said.

"Well then how should the curse be broken?" Seth asked, sitting back on his heels by the fireplace.

"The King and other princess should come back and the princess should give the wolf a kiss!" Eve declared.

Seth blushed and ducked his head, "What if the eldest princess didn't want to kiss him, because he was a wolf?"

"Oh, she loves him," Eve assured with a smile and a mischievous, knowing glint in her eye.

Seth smiled, "Well what if the eldest princess isn't there to break the curse with a kiss, who will do it?"

Eve blushed and looked away as Esme giggled.

Elena slide off the slow sofa waving her arms frantically through the air, "I do! I do it!"

Seth laughed deeply, holding his stomach and falling back on his behind. Elena waddled over to him and tried to stand on her tip-toes to reach his face.

Still laughing, he pulled the baby into his lap. She smiled at him, her brown curls bouncing up and down as she giggled with him.

She leaned up and gave him a sloppy kiss on the chin, clapping and laughing.

Seth wiped his face off with the back of his hand and then tickled the little girl until all of her giggles were out. She lay happily over his legs, a sleepy look on her face.

"I think it's bedtime," Seth observed, smiling at Esme.

She nodded to him and went to Eve who was lounging complacently on the settee. Eve ran up the stairs while Seth followed, Elena tucked into the crook of his arm.

Esme smiled at him fondly as he passed and tucked the girls in with a promise to regale them with another bedtime story the next night.

He walked out into the hallway, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Seth?" Esme called after him as he was walking down to the sitting room to prepare himself a makeshift bed for the evening.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked, turning around.

"Thank you, it seems like you're part of our family already."

Seth couldn't help the smile that crept over his features. He did, he felt like he was one of them. He felt at home.

* * *

**Did you guys miss me? I missed you guys! It was odd not updating--but like I said I had a crazy week with exams and such. But, the good news is I passed all of my exams [the lowest grade I got was a 90% and that was on Chemistry] and I feel like I did fairly well on the SAT. I'll find out my score for that in a couple of weeks. And now, the really good news is I'm on summer break! So that means I have countless hours to laze around my house and write. Gotta love summer. That also means more regular updates, because I can let my sorry butt in gear and finish this story!**

**Ok, who fell a little more in love with Seth during this chapter? I know I did. I felt like such a dork writing about 'the brace young wolf'... But it was cute, so who cares. Story Time with Seth. ADORABLE.**

**And I also noticed something, I totally switched Eve and Elena. Eve was the baby in the beginning of the story and Elena was the middle child. Oh well. I didn't notice that until I was making a list of all the kid's ages. [They're in my FAQ, by the way. The link's on my profile--go check it out, it's nifty.] No one thus far has noticed, so I didn't go back and switch them. But I apologize for that little mishap. From now on Carlisle and Esme's middle child is Eve and the baby is Elena. Sorry for any confusion...**

**Please review! The next update will be THURSDAY!!**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**They were memories of an easier time, a time when Carlisle thought that his children would stay young forever and that things would always be simple.**

**"Esther, promise me not to grow up too fast," he said, sitting up in the bed and swinging his legs over the edge.**

**"Oh Papa, I'm always going to be your baby, you know. I just may be living somewhere else; but you'll always be my papa, nothing will change that," she replied softly leaning forward and pecking him on the cheek.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Snow Always Melts

"_Every winter,  
When the great sun has turned his face away,  
The earth goes down into a vale of grief,  
And fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables,  
Leaving her wedding-garlands to decay -  
Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses."  
-Charles Kingsley_

The early morning hours usually were an uninterrupted length of peaceful, quiet time. Unless you lived with Jasper Cullen and his family.

Then there was a loud crash followed by another deeper sounding bang and then some juvenile giggling.

Carlisle groaned and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, "You've got to be kidding me."

He then heard Jasper's booming voice and another chorus of laughter, more nervous than the first.

His door opened and closed quietly; turning his head to the side he saw that Esther had come into his room. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth.

"Peter and Brandon broke one of their bed frames," she said with a giggle, crawling onto Carlisle's bed and snuggling next to him.

Carlisle barked a laugh, throwing his blanket over her legs, "How'd they do that?"

She shook her head with a chuckle, "I guess they were jumping around."

"I am so glad neither you nor your sister ever did anything like that," he observed.

"Of course we never broke anything, we are good girls," she sighed snuggling against her father's side.

He smiled at her. He did have good girls, three beautiful daughters who were generally well-behaved.

Carlisle sighed contentedly, resting his head against his daughter's, "The weather is starting to warm up."

Esther smiled happily, "We'll get to see Mama and the little girls soon."

Carlisle smiled blissfully it had been almost five months since he had seen his wife. Five long, lonely, infuriating months.

"How long do you think it will take the snow in the pass to melt?" Esther asked, trying to keep the nervous excitement out of her voice.

"It should be around your birthday," Carlisle mused. "The last time we had trouble with the pass—it opened up two weeks after you were born."

"What exactly happened back then, Papa?" She asked softly, "I know that all of your brothers and their wives lived with us in the cabin; but why did we all live in the mountains?"

Carlisle sighed. "Your uncles…well, after I married your mother your uncles decided to find wives for themselves. They went into town and kidnapped your aunts and brought them back to the cabin. The pass closed before I was able to take your aunts back into town."

"So they weren't married yet?"

"No, everyone got married the day the pass opened."

She giggled quietly, "I always wondered why they all had the say anniversary."

"Yes, they were married when the angry mob of fathers came up the pass to remove their daughters from the dastardly clutches of your uncles."

Their laughter mixed together as they chuckled. Carlisle never thought he would look back on those events with laughter—but somehow; sharing it with his daughter had made the events seem less sordid.

More of a happy memory.

They were memories of an easier time, a time when Carlisle thought that his children would stay young forever and that things would always be simple.

"Esther, promise me not to grow up too fast," he said, sitting up in the bed and swinging his legs over the edge.

"Oh Papa, I'm always going to be your baby, you know. I just may be living somewhere else; but you'll always be my papa, nothing will change that," she replied softly leaning forward and pecking him on the cheek.

He smiled and then heaved himself off the bed, fishing with one hand for his cane.

Much to his consternation, Dr. Vega was unable to set Carlisle's leg straight and he would forever be cursed to walk with aid. On Christmas, Esther had presented him with a hand-carved cane that she and Jasper had worked on together. The gift made him hate walking with it less. Esther had made it for him, so he would cherish it.

He pushed his daughter out of the room on orders to go get dressed as he removed his long-johns, pulled his pants on and buttoned his vest.

He met his brother in the dining room, where the younger man sat staring at his two children who were seated in opposite corners of the room, serving their punishment.

"Good morning," Carlisle said, addressing his brother and trying not to laugh at his nephews.

"It's not," Jasper muttered incensed, "you should know that Carlisle."

"I actually don't, as I recall my children never had early morning mishaps," he said.

"Shut up," Jasper said, through gritted teeth as he stared at his shamefaced boys.

"Papa, when can we get up?" Brandon whined.

"When I say so," Jasper said, looking suddenly very tired.

Carlisle laughed and whispered conspiratorially, "They'll grow out of this stage."

Jasper was solemn and hopeful as he replied, "I hope it's soon."

"Good morning," Alice exclaimed prancing into the room, Esther hot on her heels. They carried trays of breakfast food, the smell was mouthwatering.

"Mama, that looks delicious!" Peter exclaimed scrambling out of his chair.

"No," she commanded, waving a serving spoon at one of her boys, "This isn't for either of the two of you. I want you to sit there and think about what you've done."

"But Mama!" He whined.

Alice quirked an eyebrow at him and he scurried back to his corner. She smiled to herself as she served the hotcakes. She wasn't going to deny her growing sons their breakfast, secretly she had another platter of pancakes in the oven, but she would let them sweat it out for another couple of minutes.

The days all passed similarly, blurring together with the smell of blooming flowers and the sun melting the snow. Carlisle spent his days watching his daughter, drinking in every word they shared, because he knew that before he knew it she wouldn't be as close to him as she was then.

Before either of them knew it, it was early May and the heat was sweltering.

Carlisle sat in the rocker on the porch of Jasper and Alice's house, watching as his eldest got all muddy rooting around in the mud to plant new flowers.

She wore one of Alice's aprons—which was too small for her—and she had tried to wear a pair of Jasper's gloves to protect her hands, but she had long given up one moving her fingers in them and resorted to just getting her hands dirty.

Somehow, she had managed to get mud and dirt smeared across both cheeks, and some of his was matted in loose strands of her brown hair.

"She's the mud-monster!" Brandon cried, barreling out of the door holding a baseball bat. Peter giggled as he followed, carrying a baseball.

"I am not a mud-monster," Esther said, giving them an evil glare and putting her hands on her narrow hips.

"You do look like a mud-monster, Little One," Carlisle said, rocking the chair and staring sagely at the mountains. He grinned at the sour look on his daughter's pretty face.

She harrumphed and turned back to her work.

Thanks to her running away and Seth's subsequent returning her to home and not doing his job, Alice and Jasper's garden had taken a nasty blow over the winter. Esther had gone to the general store several days before and bought new seeds and bulbs and had taken it upon herself to refurbish the landscaping.

"Thank you for doing this, Esther," Jasper said coming out onto the porch and rolling his shirt sleeves up as he got ready to play ball with his sons.

"Your welcome, Uncle Jasper," she said cheerily, turning back to scratching at the soil with a small shovel.

He smiled at her and then jogged to his boys who were already warming up for a good came of baseball.

Jasper was the pitcher and one of the boys was outfielder as the other practiced hitting. They were both rather good and Carlisle was enjoying watching them.

They played until the blazing sun of high noon made Jasper tell his boys to take a break. He lumbered over to the porch and sat down on the floorboards next his brother.

"With this heat I wouldn't be surprised if the pass was open already," Jasper observed squinting up at the bright orange sun.

"We should go check," Carlisle replied, tapping one of the curved pieces of the bottom of the rocker with the end of his cane.

Jasper nodded.

"Here, I made tea," Alice said bustling out onto the porch and offering her husband and brother-in-law each a cup.

"Thank you, dear," Jasper said to his wife.

She smiled in return and then turned to stare out at the mountains, "It's so hot."

"Carlisle and I were actually thinking that the pass may be open, I was going to cool down and then go hitch the horses," Jasper told her, taking a sip of his tea.

"That's good," she said, turning to her husband and giving him a chaste kiss.

He sighed and beamed at her and then turned to look at Carlisle who had an odd expression on his face.

"Carlisle?" He asked.

But his older brother's attention was elsewhere. To the yard and the two young people there. One was very unaware that the other was behind her.

His daughter was blissfully ignorant that a young man crouched behind her in the dirt and mud.

Carlisle had to keep himself from smiling as the young man brushed a muddy strand away from his daughter's ear.

"The pass is open, my Esther," Seth Clearwater whispered in the young lady's ear, a smile playing on his face.

* * *

**Second to last chapter. [sighs] I want to finish this story before the 20th of June, because I'm going on a missions trip, then...So I decided not to prolong it or add any more drama. When I go on the trip I want to not have to think about coming back to writing this story. So I'll wrap it up. **

**Nobody hate me for making Carlisle's injury permanent. That has a purpose. I swear. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! We're well over 100 reviews for this story, but I still would like it if we could flirt with 200. NEXT UPDATE will be on Tuesday. Do not beg for it earlier, it will not happen.**

**Next time on 7F47F:**

**It took her several moments to process the fact that he was right there, in front of her, before she launched herself into his arms. He chuckled and hugged her tightly to his chest.**

**"Seth!" She exclaimed so happily that no other words came—and she really had no need to express it. Because Seth could feel the happiness radiating from her.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Home Again, Home Again

"_Where we love is home,  
Home that our feet may leave,  
__But not our hearts."  
-Oliver Wendell Holmes_

Esther's eyes widened as she turned sharply to stare at Seth. He grinned at her and placed a soft kiss on the tip of her muddy nose.

It took her several moments to process the fact that he was right there, in front of her, before she launched herself into his arms. He chuckled and hugged her tightly to his chest.

"Seth!" She exclaimed so happily that no other words came—and she really had no need to express it. Because Seth could feel the happiness radiating from her.

Carlisle pushed himself out of the rocking chair and balanced against his cane.

Seth pulled away from Esther's arms reluctantly, "Carlisle, the pass is open."

"I figured that," Carlisle smirked and Seth blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty obvious," he said sheepishly.

"Thank you for coming to get us, Seth," Carlisle said.

He'd spent the last six months reviewing every encounter he had had with Seth. He spent countless hours pouring over all the information accumulated. And he had come to the conclusion that Seth was a nice, young man. He was altruistic and humble, kind and caring.

Carlisle shook his hand and gave him a nod.

"Seth, did you walk here?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, yeah," Seth said, looking a little embarrassed.

"I'll hitch the wagon up and take you three back up to the cabin," Jasper said, disappearing into the barn behind the house.

Jasper emerged a brief time later, the horses hitched to his wagon, he himself seated on the wooden bench. He jumped down and helped Carlisle into the back. Carlisle glared at him—not liking the fact that Jasper had to practically hoist him into the high bed of the wagon. Carlisle felt like a cripple old man.

Esther hopped into the wagon next to him and settled down against his side. He was rather surprised by that. He thought for sure that she would be jumping at the chance to snuggle against Seth who was sitting next to Jasper on the wagon seat.

He looked down at her smiling face, confused.

She just grinned at him and snuggled closer to his side.

Seth looked over his shoulder at the two of them, and a smile crept to his lips.

Esther and Carlisle had their heads resting together, leisurely watching the mountains roll by.

"So Seth," Carlisle said, breaking the silence, "I take it you my family has been well cared for."

Seth nodded emphatically, "Esme misses you desperately as do the girls; but I think they were well looked after while you two were here."

"Of course they were," Esther interjected giving her a father a pointed look.

"I never doubted Seth's abilities to well care for a family," Carlisle said very seriously, giving his daughter a stern look.

She abashedly turned her gaze away, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"Well, thank you for not doubting that," Seth chuckled nervously. That sounded like immense acceptance to him. But he didn't want to get his hopes up.

The way to the cabin was quick—uneventful and silence filled. After talking briefly with Seth, Carlisle had settled into an apprehensive hush.

The cabin loomed into view. Carlisle raised himself up on his arms, trying to see more.

Esme stood on the front porch, happy tears streaming down her face. Elena balanced on her hip, her little arms and legs moved happily. She was exclaiming, "Papa! Papa!" Over and over again.

Eve ran from the porch to meet the carriage. Jasper stopped the horses and Eve ran around the back of the wagon jumped into the back and throwing herself into Carlisle's arms. He held her tightly, pressing kisses to the top of her head.

Esme came around quickly gathering her eldest in her arms. She passed Elena into Esther's arms.

"Ok, you've gotten so big!" Esther exclaimed bouncing her youngest sister in her arms causing the toddler to squeal.

She started talking to her older sister, most of it was nonsense due to how excited she was—but Esther could understand the gist of it.

"You're so talkative now," she exclaimed, peppering Elena's face with kisses.

Elena giggled and snuggled into her sister's arms, but she caught sight of Carlisle and squealed happily.

"Esther, down! Down!" She exclaimed wiggling around in her sister's arms.

"Alright," Esther laughed, setting the child down so that she could run into her father's arms. Carlisle picked her up and held her close.

"How is my baby? Did you miss Papa?" He asked, grinning at her.

"Yes," she said, big tears winding down her chubby cheeks.

"Oh, my baby, Papa's here now," he said, brushing the tears away with the pad of his thumb.

She smiled for him and then rested her head against the crook of his shoulder.

Esme still stood near Esther, fussing over her eldest daughter. But she glanced up and caught Carlisle's eye.

She was crying, her light brown eyes happy. She pulled away from Esther and stared at him.

Her eyes traced his form, from the top of his graying hair to the tips of his toes. When she caught sight of the cane he was leaning on she choked out a breathless sob, and ran towards him.

"I'm alright, my Esme," he said to her. He passed Elena to Jasper and with his free hand he cupped Esme's cheek. "I'm fine."

"But," she protested.

He smiled at her and then brushed her lips with her own. "I'm fine, my dear. I promise you."

She hugged him tightly being careful not to disturb his leg, "Oh Carlisle, I'm just so glad you're alive."

He laughed, "Well, my sweet Esme, I'm quite happy to be alive right now."

She giggled with him and then stood on tip-toe to kiss him hard on the mouth. Seth and the girls looked away, slightly embarrassed. Seth and Esther shared a loaded look with each other, waiting until they were alone so they could properly say 'hello'.

Soon, Esme had ushered her family into the cabin and Jasper had left down the mountain. And the Cullens—and Clearwater—were given time to catch up.

Esther was in the kitchen, kneading bread dough and humming to herself. Seth snuck out of the sitting room where everyone else was contentedly staring into the fire, snuggling.

He saw her by the counter, her hair swept haphazardly out of her face, absently humming to herself, absolutely coated in flour.

He snuck up behind her, and encircled her waist with his hands.

"You smell like fresh bread," he noted absently.

She laughed and leaned back against his chest. "I missed you."

She hoped the statement didn't sound irrational. Did he miss her too? Was she being juvenile? Immature? Was it childish to wonder if he missed her? Was it childish to miss him?

Before her mind could go in a million different directions, he pressed his lips to her ear, "I missed you too, my Esther."

He turned her around in his arms and pressed his lips tightly against hers.

"There, I've wanted to do that for quite some time now," he said proudly, pulling away to gaze into her glazed-over eyes.

"I've wanted you to do that for quite some time now," she quipped, surprised that she was able to form such a coherent thought.

"We should probably join your family back out there; I have something I want to talk to them about." He said with a wink.

Esther's breath caught in her throat, she nodded her head not entirely trusting her voice.

Seth led her to the sitting room, her hand clutched tightly in his. He sat on the hearth; Esther stood next to him, nervously staring at her parents.

Seth's throat suddenly felt very dry and his mouth cottony.

"So, Seth, when do you plan on going back down to your cabin?" Carlisle asked conversationally. It was hard for him to keep a smirk off his face, but he tried to sound nonchalant as he asked the young man the question.

"Oh, I-uh, I don't know, tomorrow morning perhaps." Seth said, clearing his throat.

"Oh," Carlisle said and then he couldn't help himself from smiling, "well, because of my leg I'll be needing someone to help me around the house.

"Now, I need someone who not only is good at working with animals and doing some farming—but I'll need someone who will make a good son-in-low. Do you know someone like that?" He finished with a smirk, staring straight into Seth's eyes.

Seth gaped at Carlisle before gathering his thoughts. "I think I might know someone that fits that description."

"Good," Carlisle said curtly, giving him a hard stare. "He'll have to work hard, you know."

"He's a hard worker," Seth said seriously.

Carlisle gave a brief nod, "And he'll have to properly court Esther."

"He wouldn't have it any other way," Seth said, reaching for Esther's hands.

"Good," Carlisle said.

"Good," Seth replied. They continued staring at each other.

Esme sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Mama," Eve whispered, "why are they glaring at each other?"

"I really don't know," Esme whispered back. "They're just being silly. Come on you three let's go to bed."

Esther was the last to follow. She watched the staring contest warily, "I'm going to bed. Papa you might want to go upstairs before Mama gets upset with you."

"I'll be up soon Esther."

"Goodnight, my dear," Seth said quietly, but his gaze didn't waver from Carlisle's.

She sighed and slowly walked up the stairs.

"Alright," Carlisle said very seriously once all the women were out of earshot. "I already know what your intentions are, Seth. But I want you to know that if you ever hurt my daughter now, a year from now or ten years from now, I will hunt you down and have no mercy on you."

Seth nodded solemnly, "With all due respect, Mr. Cullen, I will never hurt your daughter—so I don't think you have to worry about that."

Carlisle glared for a long time and Seth was starting to think he'd said the wrong thing. He started to fidget nervously, his feet tapping against the floor.

"As it should be, son, as it should be," Carlisle said sagely, patting Seth on the shoulder as he walked up the stairs.

Esme was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. "Did you threaten him?"

"No, my Esme, of course not. I just had a friendly conversation with my son-in-law."

* * *

**Last chapter. **

**There will be an epilogue--it will come out on Thursday. **

**This story has been fun, I'll miss writing about this alternate-Twilight-universe. I hope you guys have enjoyed this last chapter. **

**Please review!**


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

"_Earth's the right place for love. I don't know where it's likely to go better."  
__-Robert Frost_

Carlisle cradled one of his daughter's hands in the crook of his elbow as he fiddled with the buttons of his jacket with the other. He balanced his cane against his leg as he absentmindedly straightened his coat.

"Papa, you look fine, stop fussing over your jacket," his daughter scolded.

Carlisle looked over at her. She looked so much like his Esme. The eyes, the hair, the way she pursed her lips when she smiled.

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek and then straightened up to adjust her dress.

It was beautiful, white embroidered flowers on the silky fabric that flowed under her bust. Her hair was in an intricate bun, flowers that mimicked the embroidery placed at random places in the brown tresses.

"You're so beautiful," Carlisle murmured, brushing his fingertips against her cheek. She leaned into him, holding tightly to his hand.

"Thank you." She laughed.

"Are you happy, Esther?" Carlisle asked.

"Exceedingly so," Esther beamed.

Carlisle sighed, this was his little girl—his baby. So happy, abundantly happy.

He couldn't help but admit that her happiness was rubbing off on him a little. He smiled slightly, fidgeting with the buttons on his coat once more.

He didn't think he would be this apprehensive—he had prepared himself for this day for years. Ever since the accident in the pass, he knew it was coming.

"Papa?"

"Yes?" Carlisle murmured.

"Stop fidgeting, you're making me nervous." Esther laughed.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle said, kissing her temple.

"Are you ready, Papa?" She asked as Carlisle heard a dauntingly familiar tune cue up on the piano.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Esther."

Carlisle was cognizant only of his daughter's hand at the crook of his elbow as he walked slowly, bracing his bum leg with his cane.

He could hear Esther's sharp intake of breath as they neared the front of the church.

Seth stood waiting for her, wearing his Sunday best and a blinding smile.

He didn't look anywhere but Esther's eyes, not even paying attention to the people sitting in the pews or Pastor Webber who stood slightly behind him.

Esther, too, couldn't look away from the young man.

Carlisle brought her to the front of the church, and slipped her hand into Seth's. He realized the symbolism of it. He was giving his baby away. He remembered the way she felt in his hands when she was first born. Such a tiny little girl, she wasn't so little anymore.

**And they all lived happily ever after. The End.**

* * *

**That's it. I know the epilogue was short, but I liked it that way. **

**_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS_:**

**Ok, here's the deal you guys. I need your help. I entered the Epic T Rated contest a while ago with my short story CREEPING DOSE [go read it if you haven't]. The voting for it begins on the 22 of this month on **bronzehairedgirl620**'s profile. Unfortunately, I won't be here to try to get people to vote for my story. Or to even be selfish and vote for my own story. I leave Saturday to go on a missions trip to Mexico, and I won't be back for a week. So I'm depending on you guys to get me through the first round of voting for the Epic T contest. I would really really appreciate it if you guys would go and vote for my story to get me through to the second round. **

**Ok, I'm done begging.**

**Anyway, thank you all for supporting this story. I've really appreciated it. When I get back from Mexico I have a short story that I'm going to post as well as some one-shots that I'm planning on writing, so this isn't the last you'll see of me. ;) **

**Oh, and I apologize in advance for any reviews that don't get replied to. If you review this chapter/story any time after Friday night, the review will not be replied to for at least a week. I do reply to every review, though, so you will get a reply. Thanks!**


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